IrwinFoto

A gallery of photos by Mike Irwin

recent posts

about

  • Fatigue

    Fatigue | Wenatchee, WA | January 2020

    Too many holiday parties. Too much food. Waaaay too much needless TV (bowl games, Hallmark movies). A week into the new year and I’m still jangled — make that jingle-jangled — from all the nonstop “peace” and “joy.” For Epiphany (today), I’m hoping the Magi bring frankincense, myrrh and a gift certificate for a full-body massage. One insight: This year’s proliferation of inflatable Christmas figures — is that really a blow-up doll of the Baby Jesus? — has revived my appreciation for (more…)

  • Tufted Upholstery

    Tufted Upholstery | Airway Heights, WA | December 2019

    “If you’re a Supreme Court justice, the American people have elevated you to one of the highest offices in the land out of the goodness of their hearts and out of deference to your legal wisdom. You get a (more…)

  • Two

    Two | East Wenatchee, WA | December 2019

    As a devoted ground mammal, I struggle to imagine life in the air. And it’s not just because I’m queasy about heights. The notion of going from Point A to Point B without navigating around trees, buildings and mountains — to fly — gives wing to a fresh flock of thoughts. Up high, air currents (updrafts, tailwinds, headwinds) become both friend and foe. Tasty delicacies (insects) swarm in front of me. Death rains from on high (sneaky hawks) or from below (sneakier humans). Mostly, I fantasize about (more…)

  • Engines

    Engines | Trinidad, WA | December 2019

    Two locomotives rest on a sidetrack in the middle of nowhere. Immense power that could go either way — backwards to reconnect with burdensome freight or forward, fast and free. Me? I relish the sidetrack of retirement but must soon choose (more…)

  • Canopy

    Canopy | East Wenatchee, WA | December 2019

    Here we are in the dead of winter — wet, chilled, gloomy — yet my spirits lift when I stroll under a “capillary canopy.” It’s a leafless, trunk-to-twig spread that startles in its resemblance to the human circulatory system. Specifically, heart arteries silhouetted against an overcast sky, ductwork branching ever smaller to distribute the vital elements of life. Like a city water system or a FedEx delivery map. I walk knowing that my own circulating self is likely part of (more…)

  • Ambrosia

    Ambrosia | East Wenatchee, WA | December 2019

    An apple’s stem connects the one to the whole. The woody conduit channels life until the moment the fruit is plucked. Likewise, we’re also connected to something larger — God, the Tao, the Great Mystery — but tend to forget that notion when burdened by everyday concerns. Car troubles, money worries, bratty kids, snarky politics and a hundred other distractions might break the bond and sap our spirit. In the New Year, an apple a day can be a (more…)

  • See-through Fireplace

    See-through Fireplace | Spokane, WA | December 2019

    Explanations of how fire works never do it justice. A flame’s chemistry is like a magic trick, being a series of mundane steps that add up to something wondrous. In fact, knowing the elements of combustion — fuel, oxygen, ignition point, volatile gases, char and ash — only dulls the sorcery of transformation happening before our eyes. Something renders our solid world (wood, paper, cloth) into (more…)

  • White Chair

    White Chair | Spokane, WA | December 2019

    I’ve learned not to judge people or furniture at first glance. They’re likely more comfortable than they look. Take this chair, for instance. To me, it appears stiff and formal — the kind of chair that actually discourages lounging. But my butt, all smiles, found a soft, welcoming home in this chair’s embrace. Hours later at a casino, the bleach-blonde, chain-smoking matron next to me accepted a double bourbon from a roving waitress. “God bless you,” the older woman told the girl. Then added, “Pope Francis blesses you, too.” The waitress stared quietly at the matron for two seconds, then (more…)

  • Blinds

    Blinds | East Wenatchee, WA | December 2019

    Forgive me for donning my Mr. Know-It-All suit so early in the morning. But this single photo (“Blinds”) answers my blog followers’ most frequently asked question: “Christ almighty, you call yourself a photographer?” No, that’s the second most-asked question. The first is: “How do you see your photos?” Or, in other words, what elements grab my eye, put me into a hypnotic trance and compel me to (more…)

  • 3 Windows

    3 Windows | Moses Lake, WA | December 2019

    Moses Lake’s tallest downtown building is likely no more than three stories high. The city core has a low-rise architecture with a boxy charm all its own. Specifically: creative variations on rectangular, cinder-block buildings — faux fronts (brick, metal, glass), distinctive landscaping (dryland grasses, basalt spires) and quirky artworks (sculptures, mosaics) on almost every corner. I appreciate the (more…)