Book Cover

His book came in the mail about six weeks ago.  Photography By Nicholas James Wilson-Codega.  Published posthumously by his loved ones.

It’s taken me this long to write about it, and even now I’m not sure what to say.  The images are amazing and startling and strong.  There was no pussy-footing by this young photographer.  He saw the world boldly – in stark blacks and whites, sometimes; in audacious color at others.  His people pictures, especially his self-portraits, are intense.  It is in his photographs of the natural environment – the splash of a raindrop, the Oysterville Meadow in summer, thistles in sunlight – that he reveals a softer side.

Sometimes I see in an image the little boy who lived across the street in the years my mother was still in this house.  We would see him now and then, loping across a field or down the lane.  Later, we would hear him practicing his drums with the same intensity that his images reflect. Who knew?

Nick’s Portrait of His Mom

Who knew that young Nick would not live to see his twenty-eighth birthday?  Who knew that he would leave such a strong legacy, even so?  And who knows what it must have cost those who gathered and culled and put together this lovely little book?

Of course, I wanted more.  When I asked, his mom wrote:   We probably won’t do a second one but we are thinking about putting as much of Nick’s work as possible on a web site so everyone who wants to can take a look…sort of a permanent on-line gallery.  That will take some organizing so it won’t happen until after the New Year. In the meantime, I’m in contact with Kelly at the high school art department and the Ocean Park library about donating a framed print each.  It feels good to me to know that some of Nick’s work will be available to the community that cared so much for him.

Amen to that.  Bless you for giving us something tangible to help us remember.  And for showing us how Nick-the-man fulfilled so many promises of Nick-the boy.