wes . 64 years old / denver . colorado
i went out for a long walk today. i didn't anticipate it taking so long to meet a stranger, but i enjoyed some alone time in the sun. i've got a lot on my mind, so it turned out to be therapeutic.
i wandered all over. i had a general direction in mind, but there just weren't a lot of people out. i guess most people have places to be and work to get done. but... it's friday. fridays are meant for fun.
i ended up eventually passing by a fenced-in school playground. i watched the kids playing football and soccer. a couple of them were arguing. i noticed a girl sitting by herself in the shade with an open notebook. some kids were playing basketball and one of the boys was really quite good. he was probably 12 and could most likely teach me a thing or two. then, as i neared the end of the fence, one kid said hey to me and stuck his fingers between the fence. so we made an attempt at a hi-five and he and two his friends and i chatted for a minute. i think they were 12. one of them said he was 15 and then laughed, so i guess he wasn't 15 - i don't know about these things. when i told them i came to denver because of the sunshine, they all said they missed where they were from - arizona, california, and mexico. i suppose there is a lot of sun in those places, too. it felt good to chat with them and they didn't seem to mind that i was 26.
shortly after leaving there i walked by a store front that i had not seen before. it looked like an ice cream shop. there was a girl standing inside, all smiles, motioning for me to come in. so... considering my weakness for ice cream, i did. she let me try a sample of "thin mint" and my goodness that was good. but... i'm on a healthy kick, so that and my current economic state convinced me to be content with the sample.
i headed down the street where i eventually saw an older woman with a red hat. i crossed the street to catch up to her and as we walked across an intersection, i gave her my pitch. no... she had to be back to work.
i crossed the street again to get in the sun, but immediately spotted an older gentleman with white hair on the other side. so, i crossed again and gave him my pitch. he didn't even break his stride. "i don't have any money" rudely streamed out of his mouth. so i matched his pace and told him this wasn't about money, that i was working on a photographic project. "i don't want my picture taken. someone else asked for my photograph in this same area!". he obviously didn't get the "friday is fun" memo.
so... i went back into the sun and spotted these guys on horseback... or i guess you'd have to call it mule-back. i was about to ask one of them, but he mounted his mule and looked as if they were going to take off down the street towards the capital building. i figured there must be some good stuff going on down there so decided to head that way, but then wes came strolling down the sidewalk with this young mule in tow.
i gave my pitch yet again, and this time it took. wes said he was about the strangest person around and said i could photograph him. he was messing with a bridle and told me i could go ahead and start shooting, but i had to explain that i needed his portrait and asked him to step into the shade. so, he and the mule went over beside this building and a fired off a few shots. it took wes about a second to tire of me and my camera so i was shooting as fast as i could and trying not to get stepped on by the mule. i took a few steps back and shot the two of them together (out of the shade - sorry for the poor light!) and then that was it. i shot for 56 seconds, which is quite a bit less time than i am used to. i was so hurried that i didn't even think to ask for the mule's name.
wes seemed like a pretty good guy, though. a real man's man. he's even wearing a bolo tie (i think that is what it's called) with his name on it - "wes". yes sir. good old wes.
i went out for a long walk today. i didn't anticipate it taking so long to meet a stranger, but i enjoyed some alone time in the sun. i've got a lot on my mind, so it turned out to be therapeutic.
i wandered all over. i had a general direction in mind, but there just weren't a lot of people out. i guess most people have places to be and work to get done. but... it's friday. fridays are meant for fun.
i ended up eventually passing by a fenced-in school playground. i watched the kids playing football and soccer. a couple of them were arguing. i noticed a girl sitting by herself in the shade with an open notebook. some kids were playing basketball and one of the boys was really quite good. he was probably 12 and could most likely teach me a thing or two. then, as i neared the end of the fence, one kid said hey to me and stuck his fingers between the fence. so we made an attempt at a hi-five and he and two his friends and i chatted for a minute. i think they were 12. one of them said he was 15 and then laughed, so i guess he wasn't 15 - i don't know about these things. when i told them i came to denver because of the sunshine, they all said they missed where they were from - arizona, california, and mexico. i suppose there is a lot of sun in those places, too. it felt good to chat with them and they didn't seem to mind that i was 26.
shortly after leaving there i walked by a store front that i had not seen before. it looked like an ice cream shop. there was a girl standing inside, all smiles, motioning for me to come in. so... considering my weakness for ice cream, i did. she let me try a sample of "thin mint" and my goodness that was good. but... i'm on a healthy kick, so that and my current economic state convinced me to be content with the sample.
i headed down the street where i eventually saw an older woman with a red hat. i crossed the street to catch up to her and as we walked across an intersection, i gave her my pitch. no... she had to be back to work.
i crossed the street again to get in the sun, but immediately spotted an older gentleman with white hair on the other side. so, i crossed again and gave him my pitch. he didn't even break his stride. "i don't have any money" rudely streamed out of his mouth. so i matched his pace and told him this wasn't about money, that i was working on a photographic project. "i don't want my picture taken. someone else asked for my photograph in this same area!". he obviously didn't get the "friday is fun" memo.
so... i went back into the sun and spotted these guys on horseback... or i guess you'd have to call it mule-back. i was about to ask one of them, but he mounted his mule and looked as if they were going to take off down the street towards the capital building. i figured there must be some good stuff going on down there so decided to head that way, but then wes came strolling down the sidewalk with this young mule in tow.
i gave my pitch yet again, and this time it took. wes said he was about the strangest person around and said i could photograph him. he was messing with a bridle and told me i could go ahead and start shooting, but i had to explain that i needed his portrait and asked him to step into the shade. so, he and the mule went over beside this building and a fired off a few shots. it took wes about a second to tire of me and my camera so i was shooting as fast as i could and trying not to get stepped on by the mule. i took a few steps back and shot the two of them together (out of the shade - sorry for the poor light!) and then that was it. i shot for 56 seconds, which is quite a bit less time than i am used to. i was so hurried that i didn't even think to ask for the mule's name.
wes seemed like a pretty good guy, though. a real man's man. he's even wearing a bolo tie (i think that is what it's called) with his name on it - "wes". yes sir. good old wes.
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