Visual Notes 009

When my son was three months old, he would start crying every evening. We held and soothed him and tried feeding him, but nothing made him stop.

I later learned that unexplained crying like this is known as colic, and that evening episodes are sometimes called the witching hour. The cause is not well understood.

While reading about it, I came across the idea that anxiety about nightfall might be involved. For early humans, being alone at night was dangerous. According to this idea, even in a safe modern home, a baby instinctively senses darkness as danger.

I do not know whether that explanation is accurate. Still, I know what it is like to feel anxious as night approaches.

From my twenties into my mid-thirties, the setting sun meant it was time to leave for a night shift I dreaded. Even a beautiful sunset was not something I could enjoy. That may be why I am still drawn to city streets at dusk.

Visual Notes is a series that will run alongside my regular posts—more photographs, fewer words.