the path of least existence...

The sassi of Matera act something like an enormous living lung, following a regular rhythm of respiration throughout the day.

In the mornings and evenings, as the network of caves in the hillside exhale like some ancient alveoli, the atmosphere fills with a thick veil of musty and mysterious fog.

We got caught out in the fog late one evening. As if the maze of Matera wasn't confusing enough already in broad daylight, we were hopelessly trapped and disoriented by the inky fuzzy mist of night. We walked and walked and walked, lost and bewildered, careful not to separate, talking and calling out to one another constantly and nervously, deprived of vision, stumbling down the rocky paths, only the sound of Teshka's voice to affirm my own existence.

Matera, Italy, November 2011.

Rolleiflex 2.8A, 80mm f/2.8 Opton Tessar, Ilford HP5.