Black Rainbow
©2013 Craig Ashby
Digital Photograph

I love this photo as much as I loved the moment of finding it. A beautiful black rainbow down on the Bowery.

An empty lot barricaded by Post No Bills walls. Of course the No was a waste of paint. The entire wall was covered in huge advertisements. So they wasted more paint by painting over the bills. Painted over in navy blue which at night reads as black.

The paint created a waterproof barrier and that’s where the fun begins. A couple of days of torrential downpours and the topmost bills of the wall start letting the water gather. Water seeping down the wood and gather behind the posters.

Huge bags full of water. I pushed on several of them, careful not to break the bag. Feeling the slosh. Noticing the street lights reflecting.

It was such a brief moment I lucked upon. By the next day the bills had broken and it was just piles of pulp and paint at the bottom of the wall.

Unfortunately I should have taken more pictures. Better pictures. I should have taken my time. But I was rushed by coworkers who wanted to get to our local drinking spot. Rushed from a memory I will never forget to a memory already forgotten.