David Van Taylor 02
When was the photo taken?
1994
Where was the photo taken?
Santa Cruz, CA?
Who took the photo?
Ali Pomeroy
What are we looking at?
It's not clear. My wife, who I'm pretty sure took the photo, is deceased. She was a great & enthusiastic baker. Based on the context of the other photos in the roll, I think she took this while visiting her oldest friend Catherine at grad school.
Catherine & her husband think they probably made a fruit tart together, & cookies with the leftover dough. But they really have no memory of it.
How does this old photo make you feel?
Ali died 7 years ago, & this photo was taken many years before that—in fact, shortly before I met her. I'm happy remembering the many things she made, and thinking about the fun and creative time she and Catherine probably had putting this tart together. But it's of course also sad: I'll never have a tart from Ali again.
Is this what you expected to see?
I really had no idea. We found this camera when cleaning out the house prior to a renovation. It was a Lomo that Ali got on a trip to Austria where she met (and dated?) a Lomo enthusiast. I'm just glad there were some viewable images to bring back a little moment of her to me.
What kind of memories does this photo bring back?
It makes me think of Ali in the kitchen, baking. Sometimes I would help her design or present her work, & I also learned a lot from her about how to be flexible and intuitive in cooking (even though baking is known to require precision).
She wasn't always happy when baking. If things went wrong Ali could get frustrated, and she'd curse a lot. But ultimately she loved doing it and sharing her love and talents with her family and friends.
How do you think others will respond to this photo?
It's very hard to say. I don't know what people will see in this, literally or otherwise. The difficulty of making out what's in the photo perhaps makes it feel like a memory, which may give it a little emotional punch.
