Palindromia Hard Cover

PALINDROMIA 02022020

P A L I N D R O M I A
b y Ke r r y G o r d o n
A palindrome is any expression that reads identically
backward or forward. The word “noon” is an example of a
very simple palindrome. On February 2, 2020, however, we
experienced something very rare – a universal numeric
palindrome. As to whether this date on the calendar is
merely a mathematical curiosity or an expression of mystical
import, can be debated, but it is hard to deny the numerical
elegance of 02022020. It is called a universal numeric
palindrome because no matter where in the world, no
matter what country, whether the day is typically written
before the month or after, on this day it is the same perfect
palindrome in any case. It won’t happen again for another
101 years (12122121.) After that, it won’t happen again for
almost a thousand years (03033030.) It’s hard not to take
notice of something like that, even if we haven’t a clue as to
its meaning.
It has been said that there is no meaning in the world
other than that which we human beings create for ourselves.
The World, after all, has no need of meaning; it simply
unfolds. But it is quite another matter for we humans since
the search for meaning seems to be a unique peculiarity of
human consciousness.
For each of us, what we find meaningful, is different.
What is common is our passion to search; to answer the
call. We seem to be forever seeking for signs and portents.
We can either imagine, in despair, that there are no such
signs or, in awe, that there is nothing but. But, in any case,
to the extent that we ask for signs, it is as Leonard Cohen
reminds us, “the signs were sent.” The real question is what
meaning do we give them and, ultimately, how to give
expression to that which we have found meaningful and
bring it into the world? This is the question that every artist
must ask of themselves. Indeed, it is what defines us as
artists.
This numeric palindrome is something that we notice.
Because of its rarity and because of our curiosity, we can’t
help but feel drawn – alerted to some unimagined possibility.
Here are these numbers that appear and express themselves
with such perfect order on this particular day. What can it
possibly mean to me? So, each of us who have brought
something of our experience to these pages, 34 motes of
human consciousness moving through time and space, each
acting, seemingly independently but not independently, take
up the tools of our art and our craft and go out into the
world, on this particular day, to see what there is that moves
us to express ourselves. We make a picture in an attempt to
give shape and form to our yearning to know the world and
be known by it. We are not going to make a picture of a
numeric palindrome. But the numeric palindrome, because
of its “weirdness,” calls on us to step up and make a picture.
Of what? That which touches us and moves us to pay
attention. We don’t need a numeric palindrome in order to
draw us to action, to create … but it helps.
And this book is the result of that call. Thirty-four
photographers felt that this day was, for reasons not entirely
known, auspicious. We went out, the thirty-four of us, each
in our own way, and looked for something, waited for
something and were touched by something that spoke to us
and asked us to pay attention and be moved to act. We
pressed the shutter, took the picture and celebrated the
moment – 34 pictures, 34 experiences, 34 moments all on 1
particular day.

Plate 02

Plate 03

Plate 04

Plate 05

Plate 06

Plate 07

Plate 08

Plate 09

Plate 10

Plate 11

Plate 12

Plate 13

Plate 14

Plate 15

Plate 16

Plate 17

Plate 18

PLate 19

PLate 20

Plate 21

Plate 22

Plate 23

Plate 24

Plate 25

PLate 26

Plate 27

Plate 28

Plate 29

Plate 30

Plate 31

Plate 32

Plate 33

Plate 34

0 2 0 2 2 0 2 0
b y J o h n A l t o n
When Kerry conceived of this book in January of
2020, I liked the idea immediately. The concept had two
attractive features. First, there would be one simple
constraint unifying the images; there would be a “key” to its
structure. Second, it would invite reflection and, with any
luck, a smile. These, of course, are attributes that apply to
palindromes themselves and, indeed, to photographs.
A palindrome has an inherent structure and order. It
contains repeating patterns which continue to a mid-point
and then reverse. Visually you can think of it as a pyramid
with the mid-point being the apex. In making a photograph
we also work with inherent structural elements (line, light
and moment) to try to say something. The lines in an image
may be patterns, whether explicit or implicit, that can draw
us into and around an image. The manner in which the
photographer works with light can be expressed in a
histogram which is a graph showing the distribution of
packets of light. In a “perfect” histogram these packets of
relative light and dark create a pyramidal shape. The
particular moment selected by the photographer is the one
that is preserved and possibly shared. Every moment has a
past moment and future moment but this is the one, at the
pivot point, that matters to the photographer.
A palindrome has a similar arc. Visually it can look like a
histogram. The pyramidal shape could also be be said to
represent the past, present and future. But it is time with a
twist. A palindrome reads both ways and this leads us to
question whether time in fact only runs in one direction.
This can take us into the realm of post-modern fiction or
down rabbit holes of physics, contemplating entropy and the
second law of thermodynamics... But that is a lot of freight
for the concept and, indeed any photograph, to carry. A
simpler response would be to just smile at the ingenious
twist offered by a palindrome.
In this book we see images from 5 continents. Of the
86,400 seconds available for selection by a photographer on
February 2, 2020 we see fractions of just 34 of those
seconds and these probably add up to less than a second.
There is a serendipitous pleasure in looking at what has
been captured and expressed in this tiny bit of time. The
subject matter and its presentation are diverse: birds,
landscapes, buildings, people, animals, shapes, forms,
colours, tones, shapes and textures. Each of these images
can and should be looked at and enjoyed on its own.
However, in editing the book we have also tried to
promote some conversation between certain of the
photographs with some judicious pairings and, for those
who wish to look for deeper meanings, we have added a bit
of palindromic structure to the flow of the images.
As we complete the edit of this book on 22032020, much
of the world seems a very different place than it was when
on 02022020. COVID19 is spreading and the world is
scrambling to address it. So we may now look at these
images through a different lens. They may seem frivolous
and unable to bear the heavy weight we feel. We are
building to an apex with fear. We want to flatten the curve;
push down that histogram. But like a palindrome we must
remember that the curve will go down; the moment will
pass; the past and future will look the same again. There will
be an end but also a beginning.
Take a breath, enjoy these images and hazard a smile.

P L A T E S
KERRY GORDON, Toronto, Ontario.
“In silence, lights reflected, a person enters the frame.
Alone.”
This image was made at 2 am just after the snow had
done falling. The silence was delicious.
TRICIA LOMBARDI, Brooksville, Florida.
“Though Camellia saw her fate beneath her, she
marvelled at its beauty, and was not afraid to let go.”
KARIN BRONNER, Placid Park, Boca Raton,
Florida.
“Blue Abstract”
DAVID FANNING, Merrit Island Wildlife
Nature Refuge, near Orlando, Florida.
“Tricolored Heron”
MARGARET WONG, Glen Waverley, Australia.
“Two by Two 02022020”
Rosellas in local park, sighted on a stroll to the local
shops.
JENNA ETTLICH, Kittery Maine.
“Prisons & Sailboats in Kittery Maine”
MARYLYNNE DIGGS, Portland, Oregon.
“Red and Blue”
Abstract expressionist photograph of fabrics inside my
home captured by ICM.
MICHELLE FREY, Victoria, British Columbia.
“Flow”
I made the image midmorning. Trying out ICM in my
backyard.
JOHN BARUH, Kona Coast, Mauna Lani, Hawaii
“8 Palms”
When I got back to the hotel and looked at my shots
on my computer- this shot from the 15th tee box
looking over the water to the green was actually taken
BEFORE I thought about 8 Palm Trees and it turned
out to be the best…sometimes it is better to be
lucky…than skilled!
JEFFREY BETMAN, Heritage Park, Michigan
“Infrared Barn”
CELESTE WALZ, Disney Springs, Lake Buena
Vista, Florida.
“Sunset at the Springs”
Another experiment in using the LiveComp mode on
my Olympus camera. This one came out really abstract,
with thetrees creating all kinds of blur and overall fluid
effect.
HEINKE LINDNER, Dresden, Germany
“Kronentor am Zwinger”

SCOTT GILBERTSON, Wiesbaden,
Garmany.
“Goofing Around”
It was a dreary, rainy day. My plan for going out
and making a photo was shot. But, even in the
grey, I noticed that the windows of our Wiesbaden
apartment were still luminous. So, I asked my wife
to get behind the curtains and move around a bit.
JANIKA BISCHOF, Langeoog, Lower Saxony,
Germany.
“Goose Legs”
Breaking the rukes - no heads.
CYNTHIA HAYNES, Meru National Park,
Kenya.
“In the Midst”
When my dad died a week before my birthday in
August, a part of me died, too. I spent all of
January in Kenya—the place most healing for a
wounded soul, made even better by spending time
with good friends and laughing across the
savannahs that first captured my heart eight years
ago. In the midst of it all, being a few feet from
this white rhino and his magnificent horn on a
sunny, misty morning, on a date only seen every
thousand years, all felt (mostly) right in the world.
And for the first time in a long time, I breathed in
the warmth and grace of just being.
MARY PRESSON ROBERTS, Grayson
Highlands State Park, Mouth of Wilson,
Virginia.
“The Kiss”
JOHN ALTON, Toronto, Ontario.
“Park Palindrome”
STEVE KALMAN, Kolkata, India.
“Palindrome Day”
Ferry across the Ganges, near Kolkata.
JENNIFER WOLF, Del Mar, California.
“Beach Dane”
ROBERT GOERTZ, near Princton, New Jersey.
“Crossroads”
The sign is one of several cast iron ones in our vicinity,
and I pass it at least twice a week. The directions point
not only to where Washington crossed the river but
also to one of the older bridges across the river and, up
river a few miles, the location (Lambertville) where
the colonials commandeered the boats used in the
crossing.
CHAD MILLER, Westlake, Louisana.
“As You Were”
Part of photo set taken of my father's workshop the
week of his death.
LESLIE BAKER, Los Angeles, California.
Untitled
KEVIN THORNSBERRY, Evora, Portugal.
“5 de Outubro no 2 de Fevereiro”

JULIE MENKEN,
Untitled
SCOTT WILLIAMS, Oklahoma.
“Cemetary”
Palindrome shadows sneaking across sacred ground in
the Indian Territory.
TERREL BAILEY/LIFTED SPIRIT, Boulder,
Colorado.
“Robes Suggested”
As David DuChemin recommends we set constraints
for ourselves, mine for the month of February is to
photograph only using film cameras. I find the process
slower, and I find that I have a different mindset when
photographing with film cameras. As I wasn't heading
to any typical landscape areas on this day, but dropping
work off at a gallery, I took the opportunity get out of
my comfort zone, shooting street photography.
BARB KREUTTER, Calagry, Alberta.
“The Fence”
ANN KUNZ, Franklinville, North Carolina
“Deep River”
It is always great fun to try something new in the world
of photography. This is my first experimentation with a
new 10 stop neutral density filter. I chose this spot,
Deep River, for the flowing water and the rocks. There
were definitely some obstacles to work around with a
steep bank and lots of tree branches, but I was pleased
with this image in the end.
SUSAN BLACKBURN, Yorba Linda, California
“Ornamental Pear Blossoms”
What I noticed on a springlike day in Southern
California.
JAMIE KONARSKI DAVIDSON, Greenville,
North Carolina.
“”Dead Tulips Still Life”
Created in my home and interpreted with a texture and
some masking.
SHAUNA GIESBRECHT, Marina del Rey,
California.
“Nuevo Vida”
PEG HOWARD, Quitman, Georgia.
“Pathways”
CANDY SHIVELEY, Bonita Springs, Florida.
“No Admittance”
This photograph was taken at a now defunct tomato
packing plant.
SEAN DRYSDALE, Calgary, Alberta.
“Stella and Trevour Endure”

PALINDROMIA 02022020
Copyright © 2020 Kerry Gordon (for the compilation) and the persons
listed on the plates pages (for their respective individual contributions).
All rights reserved.