(Oakland, 2006. Image copyright Hamish Reid).

Container "dogs" dominate the parts of Oakland I inhabit, insinuating their way into every landscape, glimpsed at the end of a quiet street here, lurking behind a house there, or in long rows against the horizon as you take BART through West Oakland into The City. They're like the oil pumps in Bakersfield — both a symbol and a reason.

You'll see this image again here in a very different context. That's all I'll say now...