Is it really The End? Is it the end of an era or something else? Should I heed the words on this spread: wade not into unknown waters? In the small remote corner of the planet I grew up in—a refined and course place where there were moments where men were gentle and at times even noble—I often felt estranged and separate from the general world. I was drawn to the ideal, but mostly surrounded by the mundane.

That is why I took pictures. I was looking to unite the two. I was trying to pull the ordinary me into the extraordinary, to get closer to the wonder of people and places. I was searching for a way in as I was practicing a way out. No wonder I was so confused and anxious as a young man.

Just as I had finally found comfort with myself and my surroundings, the culture does its thing. It evolves and changes into a place where I am again not comfortable. Where I seek beauty, it finds contentment with an ugliness that is celebrated as an important vernacular. Where I seek symmetry, the rhythm of life is discordant. When I finally almost found my buoyancy, the world switches and everything is out of balance.

The question is, as I walk into the unknown future, how do I find the way to me all over again?
Rodney Smith