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@jonathanhonneyman9h

The Importance of Photo Projects as Collective Remembrances

For several years I photographed the Pacifica Municipal Pier as an informal project. Pacifica is a coastal town a few miles south of San Francisco. The pier juts a quarter of a mile straight out into the Pacific Ocean. It was a home to an amazing community of diverse people. The pier had weathered unbelievably huge storm surges and near hurricane force winds. It had often been closed because of these storms. The Chit Chat Cafe, at the entrance of the pier, was a local favorite. So many memories and photos. On June 4th a giant crack split the pier from one side of the cafe to the other, and over the next several days locals gathered to see the front of the cafe begin to tilt toward the ocean. A few days ago the community, mostly locals and many of the regulars from all over the Bay Area, came to watch the excavators finish what Mother Nature stared. By the end of the day the cafe was gone. The reality is just now starting to hit the community who longer make plans to spend their days at the pier. I often reminisced about so many experiences as I looked at the photos I took over the years. Now there is a heavy sense of remembrance and disbelief in these photos. I used to give little thought to the obvious cliché that all photographs become important over the passage of time. Now that is less a cliché and more of a harsh sadness. I still have a few of these photographs in my IG. If you do a search on the pier you will find quite a bit of sources and images of its history and demise.