Street Photography: Week 8
Earlier this week I caught myself sleep walking down streets. Under hypnosis for who knows how long I woke up when my body turned off the autopilot at a red light. When I regained consciousness I found myself in a neighborhood I hadn’t wandered yet. I was still lost at this point and frustrated I had spent the entire day without seeing anything I liked. To my left was the train that would take me back home. It was close enough that I could hear it’s aging tracks ache with all the weight. To my right was a dark side street leading me to Lake Michigan. My weight shifted towards the train before the light switched and directed me like so many other times in my life towards the water. Struggling to find any type of motivation, I saw this car sitting in a school parking lot near the lake. It reminded me of when I first started to think about being a street photographer. It was safe and inviting, something I would have practiced on before I knew just how big this world can be. This isn’t even the best picture of the week, but it is the most important one. This picture is the difference between me waking up the next morning feeling defeated or optimistic.
I ran into this man earlier in the day as I was posted up on a corner letting life pass by me. He told me he was an artist and wanted his picture taken. Almost directing me from the start he leaned against a fence with this arms crossed and a massive grin which displayed his gold grill. I wasn’t expecting him to show such a vulnerable and beautiful smile so I took the picture quickly, as I’ve done before when taking portraits, and it showed. It wasn’t a great picture, which he promptly told me when I showed him. Something else caught his attention and he moved on from me. He approached me again later in the day with no recollection of our previous meeting. I was relieved actually, this time I felt more confident. When he started rolling a blunt in front of me I knew I could be more aggressive with my camera positioning. Adjusting my camera settings by feel I was able to hold a conversation with him until I was ready. I took 5 pictures of him during this time. The first 3 were rushed and I felt uncomfortable. I stopped myself before taking the last two, raised my camera with purpose this time and composed the picture. I like this picture, it’s not perfect by any means but it reminds me that I have to be able to slow time down during these moments. These opportunities don’t come very often but when they do I appreciate each one.
The remaining pictures are some of my favorite I’ve ever taken here. I think it’s important to acknowledge personal growth and these feel different to me than all the rest. It’s the first time I’ve been able to capture what Chicago feels like right now — empty but still conscious. Maybe that’s how the rest of the world feels too. But there is no greater feeling than that, to be able to transfer my imagination into something permanent.
This week was made possible when a street light forced me to turn right. Whether that’s divine intervention or a tired cliche it doesn’t matter. Life doesn’t need an explanation to be beautiful.
