30 september, 2009

janice . 42 years old / denver . colorado

i took down my exhibition at city, o' city today. it was a sad procedure. it was my first show and i enjoyed the small dose of celebrity status that came with it. i didn't let it get to my head or anything, but i did enjoy it. that's ok, right? it is. anyway... i took it down and then made my way across town to enquire about a job. after some more heartbreaking news, i decided to look for the day's stranger. there is something powerful in this routine. even when i feel miserable, i know i have to go out and meet someone. i need to put my best foot forward at least once every day. i like that accountability.

the wind came into town today. i'm not sure what that was all about. the lady on the oldies radio station kept referring to it as a "keep your chihuahua tied down" kind of day. that describes it pretty well, i'd say. the leaves were blowing all over the place and dust kept trying to work its way into my eyes. fortunately i am a bespectacled individual, so i have one more line of defense than those with perfect vision.

i walked around for a long time. maybe it was because i was feeling so despondent or maybe it was actually that i had walked longer than normal, but i was quite tired by the time i found today's stranger. i saw this woman coming my way in beautiful warm colors and decided i shouldn't pass her up. i waited for her to cross the street and then i gave her my pitch. she laughed. and then she tried to get out of it by claiming that she "didn't look presentable". i denied her that copout. she laughed a lot and then agreed to it on the condition that it didn't take too long.

janice was on her way home from work earlier than usual because her 9-month old baby needed to get some shots. she works as a payroll clerk for a marketing research company. she told me that the job she has now "pays the bills", but she is soon going to start going to school to become a pharmacy technician. she will have a pretty full load with her full-time job, her two children (she also has a nine year old daughter), and her night classes. i remember when my own mother was working three jobs just to support the two of us. i don't miss those days at all.

janice was very pleasant to speak with. she had a big smile that she flashed whenever she could. after i snapped a few pictures of her, she admitted that she wished she had put some lip gloss on. i asked her if she wanted to. she did. so i waited a few minutes while she got herself camera ready. she did a great job in front of the camera while i struggled to find a background i liked because the wind was trying to blow us down the street. we managed to make it work, though.

thank you, janice!

29 september, 2009

samantha . 36 years old / denver . colorado

before working on samantha's portrait, i opened up my website to see what kind of activity there has been since i last looked, which is most likely this morning, but could have been as long ago as last night. i read through the comments people post on a daily basis and do my best to publish each comment, but occasionally they are inappropriate, so i reject them. on yesterday's photograph, two people commented. both of the people seemed to know the stranger of the day, chris. one of them commented on how i refer to non-white races by their color, but i don't refer to white people as white people. i am running into some race walls... some obstacles i didn't expect when i decided to go out and meet someone new everyday. i wish i saw the people of the world without my color goggles on, but unfortunately i haven't figured out how to do that. i am white. so... when i see someone that is not white, i assign them a color because a color is often our most obvious difference and colors are things i have experience with... they make easy labels. i don't assign people a color with a list of definitions or prejudices to it, i just assign them a color. you are witnessing me working through something, so i apologize if it doesn't flow very well. i will do my best from here on out to either not color code at all or color code without bias. my intention is not to offend anybody, so please consider this a formal apology if i have offended you.

i met a friend of mine downtown at the camera shop that i use for my printing. i needed some more "business cards", so i brought him some files to print. we went out for his lunch break and then parted ways so i could walk around looking for today's stranger. i walked beside a young woman for a few blocks. she walked confidently and had a pretty skirt on. she wore tall boots and had visible tattoos. i was a little intimidated. because i was intimidated, i felt like i should invite her to be a stranger. but i never managed to find the courage. she went one way. i another.

i walked many more blocks than i thought i would before the next woman caught my eye. she was middle-aged. she had 80s style hair. she looked like she would be fun to photograph and probably had something interesting to say. she laughed when i told her what i was doing, but asked if i would find someone else because she was in a hurry to get to the bank and post something before the top of the hour. i walked on.

i think it was at the very next intersection i crossed when i saw this 30s something blonde woman. it was her eyes that caught my attention. the blues she was wearing shined through her eyes, giving them a commanding presence. i excused myself and told her what i was doing and she immediately lit up and excitedly told me that she knew about this project and had looked at my postcards at city, o' city. she asked if i wanted her to be today's stranger. i told her that i did. she agreed to it after a quick tooth check (she had eaten pesto for lunch).

samantha was very friendly. she was very warm. she had so much life and good energy in her eyes. she had been sitting at her desk, waiting for the phone to ring, and decided to go for a walk. she thought if she left her desk, the phone would definitely ring. then she would get back to work, return the calls, and be productive. i thought it sounded like a brilliant idea. if i hold my phone in my hand all day, it wont ring, but if i leave it at my house when i go out to run an errand, i will inevitably have missed a call. so funny.

samantha helps find jobs for information technicians (IT). she seemed to be happy with her work and said she worked with a lot of good folks. considering how many people need jobs right now, i would assume that having a job that consists of helping other people find jobs would be a pretty good job to have.

i felt like giving samantha a big fat hug by the time we were finished. she had such good energy. i've been in such a slump lately, but being around her big smile was extremely helpful. thank you, samantha!

28 september, 2009

chris . 29 years old / denver . colorado

on my way back from the airport, as i neared my neighborhood, i spotted two black women walking down the street together. they looked very similar, so i gave them a double take as i drove by. i realized they were twins and thought it would be just perfect to have a set of twins in this project. there was no traffic behind me, so i backed into an alley and got out of my car to meet them as they walked by. one of them was very interested. one of them was very not interested. i guess the not interested one had more clout (maybe she was born first) because she convinced the other one that they didn't have time. that was too bad.

i went home to park my car and then set out on foot. not far from my apartment, i saw a middle-aged business man walking in front of me. i followed him into a parking lot and gave him the spiel. he laughed and asked me why i was doing this. i explained myself to him, thinking he was going to say yes. he eventually said no, though, on account of being too shy. that was too bad, too.

i walked around for quite some time. it was later in the day and i was starting to worry a little bit because the good locations were becoming few and far between as the sun ducked behind one building after another. i spotted a youngish looking businessman. his hair was a little disheveled and he didn't seem to be in a hurry. i approached him with my "excuse me, i am a photographer..." line and he cut me off as soon as he heard "photographer". "no thanks.", he said. i don't like being stopped short. it bothers me. he bothered me. maybe i should start taking pictures of the people that turn me down. whip out my camera and snap a shot of them walking away... then post it to another website. or maybe not.

i ended up crossing over colfax and saw this tall young guy sliding to a stop on his longboard at an intersection. i walked right up to him and asked him if he was in a hurry. he said he had some time. then i told him what i was doing and he agreed to be today's stranger. chris was nice. i think he was a little uncomfortable in front of the camera because he kept looking around nervously. maybe it was our location... colfax street is a hotbed for distraction.

chris was on his way to kinko's to make some copies of a stencil he had just made. he showed me the bottom of his longboard that hosted one of his previous stencils. he told me he makes that stuff on the side, but is also an electrician. after stopping at kinko's, he was going to head to the library, but he didn't say what for.

as i was photographing chris, his longboard kept rolling away. i tripped over it once or twice. he would roll it away, but it would keep coming back. it was quite funny. i was struggling with making something good come from the background and must have been somewhere else in my head because the process was more difficult than usual. an older black man with a bicycle and a cart full of belongings came up to us and told me that i was not taking a professional picture. he grabbed the long board and got down on one knee and held the board in front of him and struck a pose. i laughed and thanked him for the lesson.

shortly after that, i wrapped things up and chris and i parted ways. thanks for stopping, chris.

27 september, 2009

pin-ching . 57 years old / evergreen . colorado

i took my buddy up to my favorite spot in colorado - this lovely aspen grove on the way up to echo lake and mt. evans. it was a perfect day for it as the aspens have started turning bright yellow in their surrender to the encroaching colder weather. i am accustomed to beautiful, dramatic fall colors from growing up in new england, but this was a very good compromise. we parked the car and i strapped my camera gear to me and then we set out on the trail to see whatever there was to see.

i had seen a very friendly looking asian woman and her dog as we began our trip, but decided i would wait until we had covered some ground before worrying too much about the day's photo. we walked on for a bit and then decided to turn around after we had walked downhill for about 15 minutes. when we turned around, the same asian woman and her dog were just behind us, so i decided to ask her if she'd be willing to be the day's stranger.

pin-ching was very friendly. she was a little bit skeptical of the project, but was gracious enough to let her guard down and talk with me and my buddy. she was out for a walk with her dog, bud. i heard her say to another woman on the trail that she wasn't too comfortable with dogs, but her husband had wanted one, so here she was. she seemed to be managing just fine with bud, though.

she is a bio-chemist, doing renewable energy research for the government. pin-ching said she is concentrating most of her attention on using hydrogen as fuel, but there is still a ways to go before we will be using it in our automobiles. she had a lot to say about hydrogen and how clean it is as a fuel. it was very interesting. i am always interested to hear other people talk about their passions. i am not very scientifically minded, but pin-ching was able to put everything in layman's terms, so i could follow along. it was a nice little chat, and very educational.

i thanked pin-ching and rubbed bud behind the ears and then we made our way back towards the car. what a lovely day!

thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us, pin-ching.

26 september, 2009

kelly . 23 years old / denver . colorado

a buddy of mine came into town to visit me for the weekend. shortly after picking him up from the airport, we set out on a walk towards none other than city, o' city. just before we got there, i saw a couple of young guys skateboarding in a mostly empty parking lot. one of them caught my eye because he had big curly hair and a mustache. i'll admit it, today was based solely on aesthetics.

i explained what i was up to the young mustached guy and introduced myself to him and his friend. they seemed like really nice guys. kelly was up for the photos and walked across the parking lot with me so that i could use the black brick wall as our background. he is from boulder, but has been living down here in denver for some time while he has been going to school. he didn't seem to love denver, but said it was alright. he's almost finished with his degree in marketing and is excited about moving up into the mountains so he can snowboard as much as possible.

we didn't exchange much more information than that. i let him go back to skating and my friend and i continued on our way.

thanks so much for your time, kelly!

25 september, 2009

roxane . 69 years old / denver . colorado

i left my place with the intention of wandering around in the direction of a store called buffalo exchange. i had put a fall jacket on hold yesterday and decided i needed to go pick it up. i figured/hoped that i would meet a stranger on the way. and i only made it a few blocks away from where i live before i did.

i saw an older woman turn a corner in front of me. she had lovely white hair and was toting a little cart behind her. i turned down the street to follow her and was pleasantly surprised to see that she had stopped at her car. i approached her and gave her the run down. she looked at me. she looked at the "i heart strangers" pin on my camera bag. she looked at me again. it seemed as if she was trying to figure out what my story was just by looking me over. she asked if we were going to do it "right here" and i responded that we would cross the street to get into the shade. she agreed, but said she needed to put her pull cart in her trunk first.

we crossed the street and made our introductions. roxane is originally from kansas, but came out to denver many years ago for her first nursing job. she met her husband out here and has been married to him for 47 years! i told her she should be given an award for that. roxane said that they were still happily married, too, which is even rarer, i think. she has a few kids, now adults, and seemed to be very content with her lot in life. she is retired, but works with the visiting nurses association during flu season. from what i could gather, she totes her cart around, making house calls, and administers the influenza vaccine. seems like a pretty good gig.

roxane had a firmness to her that reminded me very much of my paternal grandmother. while they show a certain rigidity at first, they also keep a very warm smile just aching to crack and a kindness in their eyes that is tough for them to disguise. we did not talk very long, but in our few minutes together, i decided that i liked roxane very much.

after i finished taking her portrait, roxane asked me a couple of questions about the project and about what i do for work. as she walked away, she patted me on the arm and wished me luck. i felt a lot of caring in that one little arm touch. she was great.

thank you so much for your time, roxane!

24 september, 2009

kara . 21 years old / denver . colorado

i had a wonderfully productive morning and early afternoon. the sun was shining, albeit through some clouds, but some sunshine is better than none. my mood picks up when the sun comes out. i found myself with a bit more energy today than i've been able to scrounge up lately and headed out the door with a spring in my step.

i walked from my place towards downtown, looking at everyone i passed by as a potential stranger. it's interesting to size people up as i walk down the street. sometimes it a white sweatshirt or shiny shoes or a cell-phone conversation or the way someone is carrying their bag, but there is something about most of the people i pass by that "disqualifies" them from my approaching them with the pitch. it is often very silly. but, everyday, somebody stands out from the rest for one reason or another.

i walked a good distance today and found myself in front of the library on broadway. i saw this young woman coming my way. i looked at her as i did most everyone else i passed by, but as she walked by i realized she had a kind face. she made eye contact with me, which is usually a good sign. there are so many people out there that will not even acknowledge that others are around. i think it is sad. i let her pass by me and then thought better of it and turned around to invite her to be today's stranger. she was standing on the corner, awaiting her turn to cross the street. she had earphones in, presumable listening to music. i excused myself and dove into the spiel.

she asked how long it was going to take and agreed to it when i told her it would be about 5 minutes. kara was on her way to class. she is studying spanish full time right now and has about one year left before she finishes her degree. i asked her what she wanted to do with it. she said she wasn't entirely sure, but she wanted to move to south america. i told her that wasn't a bad idea. i want to move to south america, too. i've never been down there, but am quite sure i would enjoy it very much.

kara also works at 'comedy works' as a server and said she likes it very much as it is the best job she has ever had. i asked her if the people there are usually in a good mood. kara said that they were until they got too drunk. i think that is true with most people in most places. i'll not say more about that...

kara was very friendly. that kindness that i saw in her eyes as we passed by each other never went away. she had a warm smile and seemed to have a wonderful attitude. it is so nice to come across people like that. thanks so much for your time today, kara.

23 september, 2009

sheri . 56 years old / denver . colorado

i walked around in search of today's stranger for well over an hour. it was cold. it was rainy. and there weren't many people around. i had it in mind to photograph a woman today, but there were not many of them to choose from. i was losing energy quickly. some days it feels as though the only thing this project is giving me experience for is being homeless... or working for greenpeace. it's a weird feeling to go out every day with the intention of wanting something from someone else. even though i am not asking for money, i feel a bit pathetic. this is what the rain does to me. i embraced the autumn weather for the first two days, but day three and i are not getting along so well.

i eventually spotted an older woman with long white hair. i anticipated where she was walking and decided to take a different route to intercept her. she was very friendly when i told her about the project and claimed to have even heard of it/me before, but she just didn't have the time. she was visiting from out of town and was late for an appointment. she wished me luck and shot me a warm smile and then split.

i walked on and on and on. i eventually started retracing my steps, just hoping to have better luck the second time around. i didn't want to get too far away as i was already wet and cold and knew i didn't have much more walking in me. i crossed the street to make my way in between the library and the museum. i saw a couple of guys bouncing a ball back and forth to each other and immediately recognized them as greenpeace canvassers. an encounter with them was inevitable as they stood directly in my path. i told the one guy that i supported what he was doing, but wasn't going to give him any money. he talked to me for a little while about how the orangutans will be extinct by 2016 if we don't do something about it. he said it's all happening for the palm oil. people are clear cutting rain forests to plant palm trees so they can get the oil, which food corporations like coca-cola and nestle are buying up so they make more unhealthy food. he was very informative. and passionate. i agreed with him that orangutans are cool. i told him he still couldn't have my money.

just after leaving that conversation, i spotted a woman step out of the museum holding a leopard print umbrella over her head. leopard print is not something i am usually attracted to, but today it made me feel warm. the woman was quite striking and was walking with a big smile on her face. she was walking with a man... normally i don't approach people who are not alone, but i was really ready to meet and photograph today's stranger and figured i didn't have much to lose. i wasn't in the mood for another "no", but the chance of hearing "yes" was enticing.

i approached the couple. i had been a bit too indecisive when i first saw them, so i had to approach them from behind. i excused myself and began telling them what i was after. they kept walking. the man seemed content to avoid the experience, but the woman acknowledged me, so i continued on. they both eventually stopped and turned around to listen to me. when i told the woman i was photographing a stranger every day, she directed me towards the man and said that he was pretty strange. we all laughed. i told the woman it was her umbrella that caught my eye and asked if she would be today's stranger. we both looked to the man for approval and he gave it.

sheri and the man (i didn't get his name?!) are visiting denver from mexico. they came up here so he could cool off, but he got a bit more than he bargained for with this early fall. i asked if they were married and the man said that they "might as well be" and sheri told me they were partners. i am going to have to start asking that in a different way, i guess. he's an artist and runs a gallery. he paints and makes sculptures out of amber. sheri told me she is a "geek" and works with computers. the two of them live in cabo san lucas. i had no idea where that was, so i looked it up on the map. now i want to go there. and probably stay.

the couple were both very nice. sheri had a wonderfully warm glow to her and a smile that was enchanting. she seemed to be floating. i needed an interaction like this on such a cold and rainy day. thank you both so much for your time today. i hope your trip to denver gives you the break you needed.

22 september, 2009

steve . 62 years old / denver . colorado

i had a meeting with a friend of mine this afternoon. it was very chilly outside again today and a little rainy, too. i contemplated riding my bicycle to the meeting, but decided against it and walked instead. i figured i would look for strangers along the way.

i didn't get too far away from my apartment when i saw this older gentleman coming my way. it must have been his white hair that grabbed my attention. i hope i have a full head of white hair when i am older. there are a few men who can pull of the bald look, but i am not sure i will be one of them. i'll keep my fingers crossed. i also appreciated that his hair was a little on the long side. it seemed like he might have an appreciation for the lighter side of life.

i excused myself and gave him the rundown and steve responded with kindness. he asked me how long it would take. i told him it would be about a 5 minute process and he seemed fine with that. i absentmindedly left my apartment without having my business card ready, so i had to fumble around with that in front of steve, but he didn't appear to be put off by it. we chatted briefly and then set to work on the portraits. he was very easy to photograph as he had a steady, kind gaze.

steve is originally from pennsylvania, but came out this way many years ago. he has been practicing law for his entire working life and is now a divorce attorney. i told him i didn't imagine that to be very glamorous. steve replied that he works on the financial end of things. i don't fully understand how all of that works, but i can imagine that there are some pretty tough cases out there. if i were currently going through a divorce, steve wouldn't have much to do as i have basically no finances whatsoever. i am not married, though, and am hoping to avoid the divorce scene altogether. but i digress.

i caught steve as he had just taken a break from work to spend some time at the gym. i should have asked him what his workout routine looked like, but it didn't occur to me at the time. it all happens so quickly. i hope one day i can keep a clear head during this strangers process. that's all i've got for today.

thanks so much for your time, steve.

21 september, 2009

penni . 21 years old / denver . colorado

autumn showed up today. it came with very little warning. it's unlikely that it is here to stay given that denver is just so accustomed to sunshine and warmth, but it gave us a nice little sampler of what is maybe to come. it was cold and rainy, but somehow it didn't bother me. i rather like the fall, and i decided to embrace it today. my friend is still here from boston and she didn't have the right clothing for a surprise cold front, so i dropped her off at a bookstore and decided to walk around the lower downtown area to look for today's stranger.

i darted in front of traffic and crossed the street because i spotted a young black man with great hair and a bow-tie. the bow-tie is not something i encounter every day, and this guy was wearing it very well, so i had to at least ask him if he'd be today's stranger. he was up for it, but seemed a little rushed. i told him i needed a few minutes, which gave him the opportunity to re-think the situation. he opted out.

i walked around for a few blocks, occasionally warming my hands by rubbing them together. i kept a constant eye out for backgrounds and people as i made my way through the streets. i walked past an alley that offered a unique red wall, made up of sheets of metal. alleys are usually great, but lacking people. it is not always an easy task convincing people to walk into the alley with me, either, so i don't get to use them very often. after spotting the red wall, i looked around, and saw a young woman standing on the corner. i approached her and told her what i was up to. she had about 15 minutes before she needed to be somewhere, so she agreed to being today's stranger.

penni is from brisbane, australia, but has been living over here since january. she is studying political science at the university of colorado and is hoping to attend law school at denver university after she graduates. she was on her way to a job interview at a nearby restaurant when i saw her. she told me she had a job out here earlier in the year, but had to give it up because she went home for a little while. i told her i recently found myself looking for work, too, and we both agreed that it's not the most fun.

we didn't chat much more. penni was very nice. she had a lovely australian accent, which always strikes me as a friendly accent. thanks so much for your time today, penni! i hope you got the job you were applying for.

20 september, 2009

jeff . 47 years old / denver . colorado

i picked up a friend of mine from the airport this morning. we strolled around town for a little while and eventually made our way to the mall street. i asked a few people along the way to be today's strangers, but three of them said no. i asked an older gentleman, who was some kind of security guard. i asked an older woman who claimed she was not photogenic, but she was. then i asked another older woman who also said she wasn't very good at taking pictures. people say that often - "i'm not good at taking pictures." each time they do, i tell them that i will take the pictures and they just have to stand there. sometimes they don't get the joke.

we eventually came upon a green construction wall that i wanted to use. the light was not exactly right, but it was an overcast day and i decided i could probably make do. i could have been a bit more careful, but we made it work. i saw this gentleman walking by himself from half a block away. i decided that i definitely needed to ask him to be today's stranger. as he approached, i excused myself and began my story. he looked me over and up and down and didn't stop walking. he made eye contact with me, though, so he wasn't inviting me to stop talking. i probably gave him a bit of a defeated look, as i was feeling a little low from the three consecutive rejections, and he told me that he was walking and i could walk with him to explain what i wanted. so, i did. i told him i was standing where i was so that i could use this green wall and before we reached the end of it, i guess i had said enough for him to realize i wasn't up to any trouble. he stopped and gave me his full attention.

jeff turned out to be a very nice man. he was out on a walk to clear his head from his work for a few minutes. despite it being a sunday afternoon, he was working on his computer at a café. he told me he was a scientist, researching the earth's magnetic field for the united states government. i asked him how long he had been a scientist and, with a sparkle in his eyes, jeff told me that he has been a scientist since he was a child. he said he pursued his childhood interests and has continued on discovering things his entire life. i told him that there aren't many people who can make that claim. i asked him if he was researching things with specific intention - if there were things he was hoping to discover - or if he was just researching to discover whatever things there were to discover. he told me it was a bit of both. the government is interested in this and he is interested in that and the combination of the two provide jeff with a full spectrum.

jeff is not married. he has no children. i asked him how felt about that and he said that he wasn't sure yet. i asked if he was married to his work. he laughed a bit and said that maybe that was the case. i was surprised by his warmth. he was very easy to talk to. he made great eye contact and had a big smile in his eyes. he was curious about this project and i think even interested enough to take a look at it later. he wanted to know why i chose him. i first told him that he was at the right place at the right time and he was alone and that i typically choose people that are alone. jeff made an observation that, in that case, i was looking for a specific demographic. i had never thought of it that way, that i was targeting people who were alone and that those people are probably quite a bit different than the people that are constantly with someone else. i have been assuming, though, that the people that i see alone are not usually alone and that i have just caught them in an alone moment. well... there is really a lot more research to conduct before we have anything conclusive to say about it. it is interesting to think about anyway. afterwards, i confessed that i also liked his beard.

anyway... jeff was very great to speak with. he apologized for his original standoffishness (is that a word?) and explained that there are a lot of people out there that want this or that and he keeps walking to weed out some of the less admirable causes. my decision to walk with him proved to be a good one. i am very grateful for meeting him today. thank you so much for your time, jeff!

19 september, 2009

john . 69 years old / denver . colorado

i had a little free time in between moving and waiting for the internet guy to show up at my place, so i decided to go out and look for today's stranger. i walked a couple of blocks and then saw a middle-aged black man coming my way. i told him what i was doing and asked him to be today's stranger. he told me he would do it if i paid him. i have not and will not pay someone to be a part of this project. that is, for sure, against the rules. i told him i couldn't pay him, but went on to explain more about what i was doing. i don't know if he misspoke or if this is actually what he was trying to say, but he responded with, "i'm in a hurry. i need to catch the dollar. actually, i need two." he may have been trying to catch the bus and needed a dollar or two, but i like the idea of trying to catch the dollar. i need to catch the dollar, too. i let him go only to see him again a few blocks later. he asked me if i found anyone yet and then pointed me down the street towards some people. i thanked him and kept on.

i spotted an older gentleman walking ahead of me. he was probably a block away, walking in the same direction as i was walking, so it took me a few blocks to catch up to him. i only saw him from behind, so i knew very little about him. he was older. and he wore a fanny pack. that was it. still, though, something kept me chasing him. i finally neared him enough so that he heard me behind him. he immediately stepped off the sidewalk, so that i could pass him. i thanked him and told him i wasn't in a hurry. he responded in a friendly tone that he wasn't in a hurry either. i took that as my cue.

john lives a few blocks away from where we met. he was just out walking. he walks the same route often, he said. he also rides the bus sometimes. he didn't say where he rides it to, though. he was born right here in denver, at a hospital called st. luke's - evidently leveled to make room for apartments and housing. john worked for 40 years in an office supply company and then retired. he doesn't have a wife. he has no children. he didn't mention any other family. i asked if he had a dog or a cat. "oh yes. oh yes. a cat." i asked what the cat's names was and john said it didn't have one. i've conjured up a few stories in my head about john and his cat.

he was such a lovely man. he was soft spoken and so gentle. he had a little trouble getting some words out, something i recognized immediately because i used to deal with the same thing when i was younger. i started wondering if it will come back to me later in life. john wore dark glasses. i didn't know if they were prescription or for the sun, but i asked him to take them off anyway. i was surprised to see that his eyes were so striking. he photographed very well. he stood very still and didn't seem impatient or rushed. it was a great interaction. i imagine i will see him out walking again.

thank you so much, john!

18 september, 2009

courtney . 24 years old / denver . colorado

i had another busy day. i worked a lot, but unfortunately received from terrible news from my job, so it looks as though i need to find some other income. and it looks as though i need to do that in a hurry. i also spent more time moving, which is still very exciting. it is amazing the positive effect a new place to live can have on the soul!

i grabbed my camera gear and set out to look for today's stranger late in the evening again. i should break that habit right away because the days are getting shorter, but the light is so nice just before it goes away for the night. i decided to try out my new neighborhood again and headed towards 17th avenue to begin the hunt. as i passed by an alley, i saw a man in his 50s getting ready to enjoy a cigarette. i gave him my opening line about photographing strangers and he started laughing. he said, "you picked a good one!", but didn't have the time. i think he was just on a quick break from work.

i headed back to the street and saw a young woman walking my way from more than a block away. she looked very friendly and very sweet and i liked her purple sweater and her freckles. and i had just passed a wall i wanted to use as the background, so i stopped her and gave her the story. she was a little hesitant, but agreed to it as long as it only took a few minutes. she was on her way home from work and needed to take care of her black labrador retriever.

we exchanged information, then courtney and i walked over towards the faded greenish wall. she is originally from cleveland, ohio, but came out to colorado to go to school in boulder. after she graduated, she moved to denver and spent some time working as a server in restaurants before she took her position at a place called "EF" - an educational touring company. i have a friend in boston who works for the same company. i didn't know they were located out here, too. i thought it was a pretty great coincidence because courtney and my boston friend look very much alike.

i told courtney i liked her freckles and missed my own. my face used to be covered in freckles, but they've disappeared. i am not sure courtney likes them as much as i do. too bad we can't trade. we had a quick interaction and it was very lighthearted and easy. i didn't have energy for much more, so it worked out well.

thanks so much for stopping, courtney. enjoy your weekend!

17 september, 2009

isaac . 23 years old / denver . colorado

i am in the middle of moving right now. i am not going far, just a few blocks away, but it still takes time. i tried to get quite a lot done before going out looking for strangers so i didn't set out until a little before 6pm. i was excited to begin the search from a new starting point, though.

not far from my new place, i saw a young black woman walking down the street. i darted across the street and told her what i was up to. she patted me on the shoulder and said she couldn't do it right now. just afterwards, i saw a rather muscular black man coming my way. i asked him to be today's stranger, but he said he wasn't a stranger. after i disagreed and convinced him that he was a stranger to me, he told me he didn't like being photographed. i walked on a few more blocks, encroaching on colfax - a street i do my best to avoid. a saw an elderly woman with long white hair. i thought maybe she was mexican or native american - either way, she was very striking. i told her what i was up to and she quickly responded with a big smile and a no.

continuing on, i started crossing colfax and noticed a young white guy on a bike talking with a middle-aged black man. it looked as if the black man wanted something from or wanted to give something to the guy on the bike. whichever it was, he wasn't having it. i was drawn to the guy on the bike, but tried to ignore the pull because i thought i should photograph someone non-white. then i decided against it, turned around, and made my way towards him as he was waiting to cross the street. i excused myself and gave him the usual story. he was immediately pleasant and said yes with barely even enough time for a second thought.

we took a few steps away from the street and started chatting. isaac asked me if i was the photographer responsible for the pictures in city o' city. i told him i was. i've loosened up on my own regulations now that the first year is over, so i didn't let the fact that he had already heard of the project automatically disqualify him. i want to get genuine expressions from the strangers i photograph and i fear that if they know what they are "supposed" to look like then it will become fake. well... today was a good experiment and i think isaac managed to just be himself.

isaac recently moved to denver... just a few days ago, i think. he is from the east coast, but has been living in boulder, studying at naropa university. he spent the last few months traveling around the country and just moved into a warehouse space on the outskirts of denver. he is currently looking for work. he has a degree in writing and is looking to get into a job at a bookstore, but will take just about anything. he has some time before it is urgent, so he is not too worried about finding a good fit. in the meantime, he is working on writing and creating his own art. he was very soft spoken and seemed to be a very gentle and kind person. i enjoyed talking with him.

after a few minutes of chatting, we started the portrait process. i stepped a few paces away from him and began shooting. almost immediately, a young black guy stepped between me and isaac. the space between us was not conducive to someone else walking through, so that threw me off a bit. i really don't understand that need to be so intentional about being so unnecessarily intrusive. isaac seemed to be completely unaffected by it, though, and that helped bring me back. a few feet away from us, at the corner, there was a group of people of mixed gender and race having a loud conversation about sexually transmitted diseases. it wasn't an educational conversation, either... if you know what i mean. i was terribly distracted and was struggling to come up with the right framing. i apologized to isaac and told him i was having a hard time. he volunteered to go to a different location, but i insisted we stay and, shortly afterwards, pulled it together. it was so nice to hear that he was willing to take more time to accommodate me. that certainly does not happen every day.

thank you so much for your time today, isaac. it was great meeting you.

16 september, 2009

janine . 58 years old / denver . colorado

after taking care of some business at a camera store downtown, i walked my bike a few blocks, looking for today's stranger. i decided i wanted to meet and photograph a woman today, so i kept my eyes peeled as i walked. i found an alley in between two blocks on 17th street that was going to serve as the day's background. i parked my bike and then stood at the mouth of the alley, and waited for people to walk by.

i stood for quite some time as there were not an abundance of women walking by. i was near a bus stop, too, so many of the people walking by were stopping just short of me to wait for their ride. i feel strange if i stand in one spot and wait for too long a time and that discomfort started setting in today. i spotted an elderly woman coming my way and approached her with my opening lines, but she looked at me with fear and barely nodded her head, but i could tell it was in the direction of "no". in disappointment, i watched her walk away. she was very photogenic.

i waited for a bit longer and spotted a young asian woman standing in a spot of reflected light, enjoying a cigarette halfway down the alley. i grabbed my bike and made my way towards her, but she giggled and said she needed to get back to work. i headed back to my post and waited a bit more.

i eventually saw a lone woman crossing the street and then making her way towards me. i met her as she neared and told her what i was up to. she very pleasantly smiled and agreed to be today's stranger. she was wonderful from the very first second. as we were waiting for a van to clear out of the alley, we exchanged information.

janine was on her way to the bank. she is a public defender and has been working at that for 23 years. i am looking forward to the day when i can tell someone i have been taking pictures for 23 years. 23 years of experience gives one a serious amount of credibility. i am in no hurry, though, as every day is bringing me some great stories.

janine and i engaged in chit-chat for a few minutes, but it wasn't very revelatory. it was just very pleasant. she had such a kind and warm face. her smile was genuine and her eyes were sparkling with a certain youthfulness and zest for life. it was hard for me to imagine her laying down the law (pun intended) in court, but i'd guess that she has a good heart for her cases.

as we wrapped up and were about to part ways, janine told me that i photographed another woman in her office. i asked her who it was and she said the woman's name was kate. i remembered immediately. kate was wonderful. if i had to judge this office on the two people i have encountered from there, i would rate it very highly.

thank you so much for your time today, janine.

15 september, 2009

angelo . 19 years old / denver . colorado

someone recently commented that the majority of my strangers are white. this is something i was aware of. it is something i think about. it is not something i know how to handle. this project is not supposed to be full of intention, meaning that i try not to have too much of an objective in mind when i go out every day. last year i tried to photograph an even number of men and women. i tried to reach the age spectrum. but i also just tried to keep an open mind and introduce myself to and photograph strangers that, for some reason or another, pulled me in. well... this topic was even more on my mind today.

i rode around town and pedaled down streets i don't often visit. i kept my eyes peeled for someone non-white. i felt strange as i passed by many people, disqualifying them today because of the color of their skin. i didn't like the intention. i didn't like the judgment. but i gave it a try. i can see this losing quite a bit of its spontaneity if i am to start dividing the year into categories and checklists: young and old, men and women, white and black, brown, straight, gay, those with glasses and those without, religious folks and non-religious, blondes, brunettes, green eyes, heavy, thin, bearded. then we could get into disabilities. and fashion. freckles, maybe? i guess you get the idea. this is just a project aimed at slowing down and getting to know the people we walk by on the streets. this is about the double-take. the second thought. the exploration of curiosity.

i came around a corner and spotted a young man sitting on the ground in the shade. i pedaled towards him and called out, excusing myself and diving into the brief explanation of what i was up to. he agreed to be today's stranger right away. he stayed sitting on the ground, so i crouched down beside him as we exchanged information.

angelo was waiting for a friend of his to get out school. he had been waiting for over half an hour when i started talking with him, but didn't seem bothered. he wasn't in a rush, so that gave us time to chat. angelo was born here in denver, but spent part of his life in texas. i asked him if he had family here and he said, "yeah." he didn't offer more than that and i decided not to push that issue. he lives with a friend and works at a car wash on 3rd and broadway. i recognized the place and asked if he liked it. he said it was pretty hard work and that it didn't really provide him with enough money to live on.

i asked him if he had a girlfriend. he told me he did, but a moment later he corrected himself and told me that she was his baby's mama. they are still together and are raising their two year old daughter, lilith (but they call her lily). i asked if they had a good relationship and angelo said they did. he was quiet and didn't offer much more information than was necessary to answer my questions. he expressed some interest in the project and asked me if i got paid for every person i spoke to. i told him i didn't get paid at all, that i was just doing this for free. i think he wanted to ask more, but he didn't.

when we parted ways, he told me would look into the project and the pictures and he seemed like he meant it. i sat down and took notes for a little while and then gathered my gear and took off. angelo was still waiting for his friend, so i wished him luck.

thanks so much for your time, angelo!

14 september, 2009

robert . 64 years old / denver . colorado

while i was waiting for my friend at wolf camera to develop and print a roll of my film, i went for a walk to look for today's stranger. just outside the camera shop, across the street, there is a beautiful rose-colored wall. it caught my eye today like it had never before. i wanted to use it, but the sun was hitting it directly. i decided to go for a walk around a few blocks to let some time pass. if i found someone to photograph along the way, fine. if not, i would make my way back to said wall and see if the light had changed enough to use as today's background. i made the rounds, found no one, worked my way back to the wall, and discovered it still basking.

not far away i found another backdrop - an earth-toned wall, made up of several varying-sized rectangular rocks. i stood at the nearest corner, looking for today's stranger. i waited for longer than i wanted to, looking up and down the mall street. i couldn't help but notice that there were several greenpeace workers standing about half a block away, preying on the mall's pedestrians. while i am not looking for financial contribution or signatures or aiming to educate the masses about any number of social/political/economic/environmental issues, i looked at them as competition. they and i were competing for people's energy. for their attention. for a few minutes of their time. i do not heart greenpeace canvassers.

i eventually spotted a gentleman making his way through the crowds. he was by himself, walking slowly, casually puffing on a cigar. as he neared, i made my way to him and, excusing myself, presented my spiel. robert readily accepted my invitation with a bemused smile. he told me that his son, burke, is a photographer in new york city. i've taken a look at his website and discovered that while we shoot quite different subjects in quite different styles, he does a good job. take a look at his work at thingstolookat.com

robert came down here to denver from missoula, montana, on a business trip. he works in business finance and has been in that field for quite a few years. i told him i had never been to montana and thought maybe i needed to. robert spoke fondly of montana and especially missoula and made it sound quite beautiful. he said that denver reminded him of missoula, but the mountains were quite a bit more present there. robert went on to tell me that he worked in construction for many years prior to his career in business finance and even had a stint in owning his own cookie store on catalina island, off the coast of california. he had a big smile on his face when he told me about the cookies, which made me think that he wouldn't be sad if he were still selling tasty baked goods to holidayers.

it was a real pleasure chatting with you, robert. thank you so much for your time!

13 september, 2009

jerry . 48 years old / denver . colorado

after a late brunch and some good times with good friends, i started walking up broadway towards downtown denver with one of the brunch friends. i was going to take a few photos of her on our way to capitol hill. we hadn't gone very far when i spotted this guy as he walked by. he had a weathered look to him that was extremely photogenic. but by the time i realized how great a treasure he was, he had made his way down the street and i didn't feel like chasing after him.

stephanie and i made our way around a corner and saw this wonderfully worn, old, green building. it looked deserted, which pretty much gave us free reign. i started taking some portraits of her with it as the backdrop. after a few minutes, the same guy walked by. as he passed he said, "very nice." - most likely referring to stephanie and not my choice of composition. i realized it was him and called out after him to tell him what i was up to with the strangers project.

jerry agreed right away. he was just returning back to his home in the baker district with a couple of beers he had just gone out to purchase. i told him how much i liked baker, but he saw it differently, claiming that he felt like he was living in a "matchbox" because all the houses were so close together. jerry had a big grin on hjs face while he talked with me and stephanie. he spoke quietly, but very quickly, and was full of whit and sharp as a tack.

he told us that he is a cook. he said he can make anything - french and american cuisine - and he bakes just as well as he cooks. he said he is also a custodian. he didn't say where he worked, so i can't verify his statements, but as far as i am concerned, he's good in the kitchen. we asked about his family and he told us he has a daughter in her late twenties and she has a daughter, so he is now a grandfather. jerry told us that his daughter used to date oscar de la hoya (the great mexican-american boxer). he told us this with pride, but knowing that the story sounded a little far-fetched, said "i swear to god" a few times. well... there you have it. i told jerry that i'd like to know how to box and he told me that he used to box, but gave it up. i can picture him with gloves raised, dancing around the ring.

when we got on the subject of love, jerry didn't offer too many details. he said he has a girlfriend, but that she has too many boyfriends. i told him that sounded like there wasn't much pressure involved, but he said there was too much. he wasn't sure what to do about it, though. he was great in front of the camera. we both told him how handsome he was and i think he liked hearing that. it kept that twinkle in his eyes shining bright and his grin ready to break loose at any second. we had a good visit and then went our separate ways.

thank you, jerry!

12 september, 2009

brett . 23 years old / denver . colorado

well... yesterday certainly took some wind out of my sails. i think it was a good learning experience, though. at least i am trying to look at it in that way. today was the first cool, rainy, autumn day that we have had in denver. that kind of weather usually drives me right into the ground, but today i used it as an excuse to just relax. i took it in for some time and ventured out quite late in the day to begin the search for today's stranger.

i passed by city o' city without going inside. that is a rarity. the clouds were thick and the sky was beginning to drop a little rain here and there, so i thought i should make the best of the remaining light and shoot before the storm rolled in. as i passed by, i noticed that a woman was photographing someone in front of my outdoor exhibition. i stopped and talked with the two of them for a few minutes. we had a lovely conversation about the project and then i continued on my way towards downtown.

as i entered the library and denver art museum grounds, i spotted an older woman casually looking around. she was walking at a slow pace and didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, so i made my way over towards her. i was hoping to find someone with a bit more time than yesterday's stranger. i get my energy from other people's stories and come alive in good conversation. i needed it today. in a charming accent, the woman asked me what i was taking the pictures for and where they would end up. i explained it all and then told her there was no money or anything shady involved. she said no anyway. and that was ok.

i turned from her and almost immediately spotted a young guy walking in my direction. i walked right up to him and told him my story. he agreed right away to be today's subject. just as he said yes, though, it started to rain. we made our way under the temporary entrances to the museum where we exchanged some information. brett is living in evergreen (about 45 minutes outside of denver) and was down in denver for the weekend, visiting is brother (i think) and his girlfriend. he lives in evergreen every summer and works at a yak ranch. i had no idea there was a yak ranch anywhere around here. brett said that they raise the yak for their wool. i might have to go up there to investigate this place because i am almost sure that i have never seen a yak... except for on tv. my favorite spot in colorado is up near evergreen, too. i told brett about it and he knew exactly where i was talking about. he's been camping up there before.

brett was on his way to meet his girlfriend for some coffee. he had just left the library where he was looking for a copy of ayn rand's 'anthem'. the book i am currently reading, carrying around, and using as my clipboard is called 'the virtue of selfishness', which is also by ayn rand. it seemed that brett and i would have a few things to talk about with our common interests in locations and reading material. i guess he could teach me a thing or two about yaks, too. after some more chit chat i found out that brett used to work at the watercourse bakery, which is very closely connected to my darling city o' city. we both got a kick out of that. it was a very good interaction.

thanks so much for your time, brett.

11 september, 2009

sheila . 68 years old / denver . colorado

some days are harder than others. some days i don't really heart strangers. this is one of those days.

i spotted an elderly man snapping some photos in front of the denver art museum. he had a journalist's field vest on, those articles of clothing that look as if they also double as a fly fishing vest, and dark sunglasses which were more practical than fashionable. i decided to tell him what i was up to and asked him to be today's stranger. i couldn't see his eyes, but i felt the disdain immediately. he gave me a very articulated "no". if i could be so bold as to say how i really felt, i would say he was rude. i wished him a good day and continued down the sidewalk.

an older woman, approximately the same age as the previously mentioned man, took a seat on a stone bench up ahead of me. i made my way over towards her and excused myself. i began my pitch and then sat down beside her, more as an effort to be on the same plane as her than because i felt invited to. she laughed. it wasn't friendly or unfriendly. maybe it was a laugh of surprise. she asked me if i had just asked that man, and pointed towards the vested photographer with the shades. i said i had and asked if that was her husband. he was. she wasn't surprised that he said no. she asked me if i had already photographed a stranger today. i explained that i had not and that i only photograph one each day. she looked over at her husband and then back at me and gave me the ok. i asked if it was to make her husband jealous. she laughed again and said it wasn't. i gave her a business card and we began the process. not long into the process her husband walked by at a good distance and told her they needed to go. she looked at me apologetically and said, "this isn't going to work out." i told her i understood and let her go. she asked where the show was and said she would check it out. she was obviously the better half of that relationship.

i get really irritated with people like the first guy. is it so difficult to at least be polite? ok, you don't want to be in the project. i get that there are many legitimate reasons to say no. but there is no legitimate reason to be rude about it. i am certainly not rude in my approach.

so, i continued on my way. i made my way across the front of the museum and then down around its side. i spotted another older woman - very sharply dressed, about the same age as the other couple, walking by herself. she wore a green strap around her neck, which i recognized from some previously encountered strangers as part of the "uniform" of the docents at the museum. i approached her with the usual rundown. she audibly sighed. i knew from that second that i had my work cut out for me. something in me likes a good challenge, i guess. i should just walk away from these people. i can rattle off many many reasons why i generally don't like people, but this project is supposed to help me find some redeeming qualities. i don't like quitting on people. i want to find something about them that i like. so i stick with these strangers, even those that sigh.

sheila was very skeptical of me. she actually said, "is this going to end in you asking me for a dollar?" oh man... that one really gets to me. yes, i am going to ask you for a dollar to help pay for my professional camera gear that happened to cost thousands of dollars! i don't look like a bum. today i wore a slim-fitting button down shirt, good jeans, some sandals (is it the sandals?), and fashionable eyeglasses. my hair is currently well kempt. i don't look malnourished. i have nice teeth, so i am obviously not looking to feed my meth addiction. i don't reek of booze. what is it?

at the end of the day, encounters with people like sheila are those that i find interesting. they make me so angry. livid. i called my friend afterwards and just let out a trail of cursing and disgust. in the moment i can't understand why i bother. but an hour later, after i have calmed down, i guess i can see the value in putting myself through this process. this process that sometimes feels more like a gauntlet.

so, sheila is a docent at the denver art museum. a docent is one who volunteers their time to give tours to people visiting the museum. there is probably more to it than that, but that is as much as i understand. i told sheila i had photographed some other docents, but that didn't matter much to her. i asked her what else she did. she wasn't enthusiastic about it, but she told me that she chairs the board of the denver opera. i asked if she had family. "yeah, children, a grandchild, and all that." ok... so let's take some pictures. we started the process but after about 8 frames she asked if we were just about done. i explained why i was taking more photographs. in truth, i have to shoot many more photographs of people like sheila because they won't let their guard down.

i am trying to make beautiful pictures of strangers every day. i am trying to find beautiful things to say about strangers every day. i am trying to do something good. every day. and some days it feels like an uphill battle against a formidable enemy. i guess i don't understand why sheila agreed to be a part of this project. had she said no, she would have been more honest. i would have had much less shit to talk about her. my mood would be better. i may have walked another block and found someone who was happy to participate. so... what is the lesson in today's encounter?

in closing, i would like to offer my thanks to sheila for giving me her time. i do think it takes courage to participate in this project of mine. i assume she expected me to have different things to say after our interaction. this is absolutely the most downbeat summary of the day's experience. on a better day or had i been in a better mood, i may have been more likely to seek out the good, but i don't have it in me today. perhaps i misread our entire interaction. in some way, i certainly do hope that is the case.

10 september, 2009

bente . 68 years old / denver . colorado

i went out with a buddy of mine. we decided to make our way to an antique shop that i like to visit down on south broadway. they have an assortment of old cameras and generally have some very nice bicycles. we were going to bang around in some thrift stores and just take our time looking for everything and nothing in particular. we left the camera/bike store and then, on a whim, my buddy said he wanted to check out this other antique store called "corky's".

we made our way inside, through a narrow walkway lined with a lot of very old, very beautiful things, towards a desk that was tucked away in a corner. a woman asked if we were looking for anything in particular and, to my surprise, my buddy was. he told her what he was after and she made a quick phone call to track it down and said she would have something for him tomorrow. i was distracted by some wooden-shafted golf clubs and asked her how old they were. as she told me their approximate age, i picked up on a hint of a very familiar accent. i asked her if she was scandinavian. she was. then i asked if she was danish. indeed, she was. she was very impressed at my accuracy, which led to a conversation about my having lived in denmark.

bente and i traded stories of denmark. where i lived and where she lived. she has lived in the states for over 40 years now, but used to spend her summers in århus, which is the city where i spent the majority of my time. it is also the city that has the firmest grip on my heart. i miss it so much. i am in a bit of a slump right now. i am not sure why, but i've lost nearly all of my motivation to do anything. after leaving the antique shop, my mood worsened, which is maybe just due to my being reminded of how much i miss denmark and my friends there.

bente married her husband in new york city many years ago. he served in the military and was stationed in upstate new york. they spent some time out there and eventually moved to denver because her husband had also spent time out here at one of the bases and liked it. after traveling all over the country, bente prefers denver to everywhere else. she is the mother of two, a son who lives in washington and a daughter who lives in austin, texas. bente was excited because her daughter is moving back here. she said she hasn't been back to visit denmark for a couple of years because she recently became quite ill. she has been fighting with some after effects of having rheumatoid arthritis and has only recently been able to get around with the assistance of an oxygen tank.

she owns a home in sweden, an old farm house. she's not sure how much time she will spend over there, but she wanted a place for her grandchildren to be able to visit. she told me when they get it to a somewhat livable state, that i should stay there when i go back to visit. bente was such a terribly sweet woman. i fell in love with her accent. she still had that scandinavian sparkle in her eyes. we spoke a lot of politics and the economy and taxes and the dire straits of both the danish and the american political systems. we chatted for quite a long time. after saying something about the lack of jobs across the country, i mentioned to her that i was photographing a stranger every day and had heard that story so many times in the last year. i had not decided whether or not i would ask her to be today's stranger. i wanted to, but i didn't want to ruin our conversation. she eventually brought it up again, so i asked her if she would like to be a part of it. she did.

we made our way to the front of the store where there was some outdoor light pouring in through the glass door and windows. i took quite a few shots, struggling to find the right exposure in the dim store. bente told me that she used to model, many years ago, when she lived in england. she looked through the photos i took of her and was sad to admit that she looked so old. i don't see aging as a bad thing. i think she looks beautiful. and i would imagine that she has enough stories to fill a few novels. i am going to go visit her again.

it is so nice when i meet someone naturally and that interaction turns into the day's stranger experience. it feels much better than when i go out on the street head hunting. i would prefer for it to be like this every day, but it would require a lot more time, which, in turn, costs more money. maybe one day.

thank you so much, bente. you are so lovely.

09 september, 2009

cheri . 20 years old / denver . colorado

i had an opening reception for the i heart strangers show last night. it was a lot of fun. it was, perhaps, more fun than it needed to be. as a result, i spent today feeling like death. i couldn't even get out of my own way. i rode my bicycle down to south broadway, locked it up, then walked around some shops. i had my gear with me and was "looking for strangers", but was really just trying to put one foot in front of the other.

after quite a long time of doing this, a woman walked by me. i was on the phone, but she asked me if i knew were the 7-11 was. i looked up and down the street and then pointed her towards downtown. she went on her way and i finished my phone conversation. a few minutes later, she came back my way. i was near a big red wall that i thought would be good to use, so i darted across the street, calling after her.

cheri agreed to be today's stranger, but with some reservation. i explained to her what i was doing and all that and she seemed to become more comfortable as our conversation progressed. cheri is the mother of a little boy who is about to turn two years old. she was out walking around, making her way to her husband's work. she asked me where a certain road was, so i directed her down the street, quite a few blocks away. i told her she could make the walk, but it was going to take her a little while. i didn't say so, but i was wondering how comfortable those shoes were going to be after a mile.

we didn't exchange much more information. cheri is busy being a mom. i was busy feeling miserable. we were both very nice to each other. and that was that.

thank you for your time, cheri!

08 september, 2009

wayne . 60 years old / denver . colorado

i heart strangers has undergone a facelift! i decided to try something new for the layout in honor of this step into the second year. i've become more interested in horizontal portraiture lately, so we'll see how this works out. click on the photograph to view it larger.

when i decided that i had spent enough time socializing, i stepped outside to "get something done". i looked around and saw an older man walking down the street. i quickened my pace to catch up with him and told him i was a photographer working on a project. he raised his hands in disgust and said no. i asked him if i could at least tell him about the project and he said, "no, thanks!" alrighty...

immediately afterwards, i spotted another older gentleman across the street. i made my way towards him and excused myself to give him the run down. my pitch has changed slightly because i can no longer say i am doing this for a year. now i am just "photographing a stranger every day". it sounds more daunting to me... but i do suppose the pressure is off. the gentleman laughed and asked if i was a student or a professional. i told him i was a professional. i think he asked only out of curiosity because he agreed to be today's stranger anyway.

wayne told me that john f. kennedy was shot on his 15th birthday. he said that was the worst birthday anyone could hope for. shortly after high school, wayne was drafted into the vietnam war, where he served two years. he then went to college in columbus, ohio, at the same time that all of the drama was taking place at kent state. it sounded like he saw quite a lot of action in a few years - i'd say a bit more than he hoped for, too.

wayne worked in advertising for many years and combined that career with a brief teaching position at the art institute of colorado. the teaching provided him with a bit of consistency in an otherwise very unreliable schedule. he never knew when jobs would come and when he would make some money. he grew weary of the lack of art in advertising and the intense schedule and eventually "took up a career in alcoholism". after fighting with that for some time, he began working in construction and maintenance. he's been sober now for 18 and a half years, but recently lost his maintenance job.

when i met him, wayne had just come from the library, where he had been reviewing job postings, and was walking to drop off a resumé for a new maintenance position. he's hoping to just make it to retirement when he can then "paint 24 hours a day" if he feels like it. he said he is enjoying working on his paintings and sculptures much more now than he used to, as there is no pressure to it anymore. while he grew very tired of the artist's life, he was very encouraging to me and wished me success with my own photographic career.

i'd guess wayne has quite a few more stories to tell. i would have liked to have heard them, too. he offered quite a bit more than many of the strangers and i am grateful for that. thank you, wayne! it was great meeting you today. good luck with the job search.

07 september, 2009

ron . 59 years old / denver . colorado

if you are visiting this site for the first time, or if you have been visiting consistently but need a reminder, i should let you know that this is day 365. every day for the last year, i have gone out to meet and photograph a stranger. i planned on doing it for only one year, but now that the year is over, i am realizing i cannot just quit. so, i will continue to meet and photograph strangers until it comes to a natural end. i have no idea what that end will look like...

i had a very full day ahead of me today, so i went out to look for strangers quite a bit earlier than usual. i grabbed some coffee at my local stomping grounds and made my way downtown. the "taste of denver" festival was still going on, so i figured i would again walked around its perimeter. in the process, i walked down some streets i tend to overlook, which allowed me a great opportunity to look for new backgrounds and pay a bit closer attention to my surroundings.

there were many people out, but i was at a loss as to who i should choose today. i could not make up my mind which gender, which age group, or which race to seek out. i walked by a hotel near the 16th street mall that was hosting a tattoo convention. that got my wheels turning. i thought it would be interesting to close out the year with an inked-up stranger, one of those covered head to toe types. i made two passes and came up with nothing, so i continued on. i neared an entrance to the festival and spotted a bearded fellow leaving the bathroom area of the festival. i wasn't sure if the grounds were open or not, so i watched him to see if maybe he worked for the festival or was delivering some goods or otherwise engaged. when i decided that he was just waiting to enter, i walked over to him.

i excused myself and gave him the story. i told him he would be the last day of the first year and invited him to be today's stranger. ron agreed on account of wanting to support the arts because his son, cody, is also a photographer (codylindphotography.blogspot.com). we made our way across the street where i thought we could get away from the forming crowd. i spotted the brown doorway when we got over there and told ron i thought it would be a good spot. he laughed and chided me about how brown was his color. i think it worked out ok, though.

ron told me that after many years of working, he is currently unemployed. he said quite matter of factly that the economy sucks. he worked at a custom motorcycle shop, making nice motorcycles even nicer with fancy paint jobs. after surviving two separate waves of lay-offs and firings, he was finally let go. now he is looking for work. i can imagine that at 59 years old, the job hunts becomes quite a challenge. he spent some time working in the insurance field, but ron said that just wasn't his game. he is not looking for millions, he just wants to show up and work and make a living. i can understand that.

at one point ron said he didn't want to lose my card so he was going to put it in his motorcycle. i asked what kind of bike he rode and if i could take a look at it. he was happy to show it to me. he painted his harley a beautiful blueish purple color. it was a gorgeous bike. he said he used to have an '85 of the same model, but it had taken a beating in a wreck. he admitted that he was riding a bit aggressively because of some stress, and as he was making his way down the road near conifer, colorado, he came upon a line of cars that were stopped and pulled over. he decided to just blow by the scene. as he pulled into the left lane without slowing down, he ran right into a female deer. a family of deer had been crossing the road and this one couldn't make up her mind. ron and his motorcycle slid about 100 feet down the road. ron survived the crash with some cuts and bruises, despite not wearing his helmet or any leather, but the deer met her demise that day. ron said he was glad for not wearing his gear because it would have been destroyed and he would have had to replace it. ha ha... i thought that was pretty hilarious. ron spoke very kindly of the people that helped him out that day. he didn't mention it, but i think ron is pretty glad he survived that day.

ron struck me as a really good guy. he is very supportive of his son's pursuit of photography and extremely encouraging to me and this project. i've run into quite a few people in ron's generation that don't see the value in the arts or in dream pursuing of any kind, so it was very refreshing to hear him speak so kindly of it. we parted ways, ron to enjoy the day at the taste of denver festival and me to continue on with my busy day. this was a perfect closing to the first year.

thank you so much, ron. i wish you all the best on your search for new employment. it was great meeting you!

06 september, 2009

dj cavem . 23 years old / denver . colorado

i made my way towards the library and museum again. i've been using that area quite a lot. i think that is ok... it's a great place to see many different people. the dynamic changes throughout the day and i inevitably end up down there at different times, so it works out quite well. the "taste of denver" festival was going on again today. i participated in it a little bit last night with my friend and his family, so that is how i came to learn what it was all about. going inside the festival would be a sure fire way to find some strangers, but it would also be a sure fire way to overwhelm me, so i decided to patrol its periphery in search of today's new friend.

i was crossing the street towards a red brick wall when i spotted this couple crossing the street in the opposite direction. the guy was tricked out with a hat and dark sunglasses and a large boom box with tunes blasting and the woman was in bright colors and wore her hair in an afro. i had a few more seconds to get back across the intersection before traffic had the right of way, so i darted towards them and excused myself. i told the duo what i was up to and asked if they would be a part of it. the guy looked at me and shook his head yes as the woman looked on with a smile on her face.

i gave them my card and told them about the show and asked for their names. the guy was going to say something else, but he thought better of it and decided to give me his artist name, "dj cavem" and the woman said her name was neambe, which i told her was very pretty. as he filled out the model release, cavem told me the would feel a lot better about this whole thing if neambe could be in the photo, too. i told him i didn't have a problem with that and showed him how i display the pictures on here and he seemed to think that would work out just fine.

dj cavem and neambe are a couple and she is pregnant with their child. she was glowing as she told me she was 12 weeks along. she is an artist and also an environmental activist and dj cavem is, well, a dj. they are both from denver and seem to be in no rush to go anywhere else. cavem struck me as one of the most laid-back people i have ever met. he spoke very softly and responded in such a kind manner to everything i said to him. neambe kept a beautifully warm smile on her face the whole time we talked. the two of them were quite beautiful and seemed like a wonderful couple.

i asked cavem what he was playing on his boom box and asked if it was his. he responded that it was dr. dre. that made me feel like an idiot. i should probably be able to recognize dr. dre when i hear it. oh well. my knowledge of hip-hop and rap is obviously sub-par. i should work on that.

it was a pleasure meeting both of them today. they were great in front of the camera and wonderful to talk with. they told me about a michael jackson costume party that cavem is playing at and asked me to come take some pictures there. it actually sounds like a pretty fun gig. i let them get on their way to the taste of denver and i sat down to take some notes about our interaction. it was a great second to last day of this first year.

thank you dj cavem and neambe! i hope you had a great day!

05 september, 2009

fred . 65 years old / denver . colorado

a large section of town just below the capitol building was blocked off to traffic today. some festival was going on. i had no idea what it was, but i figured there would be a decent amount of people down there. i made my way towards the library with my eyes on the lookout for today's story.

i asked an older man who was walking down a hill near a wall i wanted to use. he responded angrily that he was in such a hurry. he was moving along at a snail's pace. i would think it would be such a drag to be in a hurry at such a slow pace. he wasn't walking slowly because he was old... at least it didn't look that way. it looked like he wasn't in a hurry at all, but just said he was. oh well. i watched him walk away.

near the library, i saw a tall, long-haired guy coming my way. he was tall to begin with, but had large platform boots on that complimented his other goth attire. he wore dark sunglasses and a black tank-top. he didn't look overly approachable. i felt ashamed for judging him, so i decided to make up for it by approaching him and asking him to be today's stranger. i thought i should give him the benefit of the doubt. but he didn't even stop when i started talking to him. he looked away in disgust. i felt really good about myself then.

shortly after that rejection i spotted an older man unlocking his bicycle from a rack. i looked at him a few different times, trying to get some kind of impression. i have no idea what i was hoping for, but i guess i got it, because i decided to walk over to him and tell him what i was up to. i gave him the spiel and asked if he would be today's stranger. he said, "sure." so that was easy. we stepped into the shade and began the process.

fred moved out to denver from pasadena, california 30 years ago. he had four cousins out here who were working in construction, so he teamed up with them. after he turned 40 years old, he decided he needed to find some work that was a bit less physically demanding and took a position as a paint mixer. he said it wasn't much easier, as sometimes the job called for lifting 100-pound bags of mix, but he liked the job enough to stick with it for 18 years. he is now retired, but is finding it difficult doing nothing all of the time, so he volunteers at a local church that gives food to the homeless.

fred has just one cousin here now. i asked him if he was married and he replied, "not anymore." fred was very nice and soft spoken. he didn't seem to mind talking with me, but wasn't quite ready to open up entirely. when i looked into his eyes i didn't see a whole lot of joy. but i'm not convinced that they were filled with sadness either. i'd guess he has quite a few stories from over the years. i'd like to figure out a way to make people more comfortable and willing to share with me. maybe i'll make more progress with that in the second year.

it was nice meeting you, fred.

04 september, 2009

grant . 23 years old / denver . colorado

after taking care of the small business of procuring my new apartment (yeah!), i rode my bicycle down to city o' city for some coffee. i hadn't quite made a plan for the day and figured i would do it over my morning routine. well... my friend andy was down there and we got caught up in trading stories and talking about photos and music and old times and what not. right under our noses the hours passed us by. it eventually came down to facing the facts that we both had somewhere else to be. i needed to go shoot strangers and, no joke, andy had to go shoot some guns. same difference, right?

immediately after parting ways with andy, i spotted an old man. he had a great look to him, mostly because of his thick eye glasses. i told him what i was up to and without even breaking his stride he told me no. ah well. i didn't much care. i made my way down 13th avenue, thinking i would continue down to the library and museum, but i didn't make it far. i spotted this young guy with long, thick, blonde hair. he had rad sunglasses on that matched his skinny shorts. he looked pretty cool. i figured he might be up for some strangering, so i gave him the run down. the crosswalk light changed, so i walked with him across the street and we settled on the other side after he agreed to be today's stranger.

grant is from indiana. i didn't find out what brought him out to denver, but it turns out that he went to a school in indiana called bethel, and bethel, if i am remembering correctly, played sports against asbury college, where i went to school in kentucky. grant was on his way to work at a place called "bd's mongolian barbeque". i had never heard of it, but he's a server down there, so i figured i would give it a try for dinner tonight. not long from now i will be diving into a bowl of mongolian food. i've never had mongolian, so i am looking forward.

i didn't learn much more about grant. we had a short and sweet interaction. but while i was photographing him a young guy pedaled by us on a bicycle with a bunch of advertisements all over it. just afterwards, an older guy came following after him, yelling about how he was going to call the police because the kid was NOT SUPPOSED TO BE RIDING HIS BICYCLE ON THE SIDEWALK. grant and i both laughed. then he went his way and i mine.

thanks for your time today, grant!

03 september, 2009

devaun . 19 years old / denver . colorado

i had a fiery conversation with my landlord this morning. there has been a significant increase in crime on my block specifically and it has been leaving a sour taste in my mouth. the chat didn't go as i expected, so i was feeling pretty wound up when i left his office. david lynch is working on a series right now called 'interview project'. he has driven across the country and interviewed 121 different strangers and is releases one video every three days. in one of the interviews i watched last night, the stranger said that one of the secrets to happiness was never having any expectations. that sounds good, but i am not sure i'll ever succeed at thinking that way. i certainly didn't today.

i left the office and decided to head out in search of today's stranger. perhaps because i already felt defeated, i walked towards colfax. i tend to not bother with colfax, but i felt like pushing my luck today. as i neared an intersection, i spotted a young black guy, decked out in a white cap and a baggy white t-shirt. i tend to shy away from white clothing, but he was wearing so much of it, that i thought i might get away with it. i contemplated. i walked by. i thought some more. then this guy started crossing the street. i finally decided to go for it, so i followed him through the crosswalk. he looked over his shoulder and caught me following him. maybe he was wondering what the dorky white dude was doing... or maybe he wasn't thinking anything and i am paranoid.

anyway, i excused myself and went into the explanation of what i was doing. he asked a couple of questions and then cheerfully agreed to be today's stranger. he shook my hand and when i asked him what his name was he said, "they call me devaun." i liked that. he had to take a phone call, so i stood and waited for him to take care of his business then we started chatting.

devaun just got out of work for the day. he has been working for about a month with a company that designs branding for businesses (that is what i understood anyway). he works in web design and is currently training to be his boss' assistant. he seemed like he enjoys the job. he is from here in denver and all of his family is here. i have no idea what that feels like, but in devaun's case it sounded like a good thing.

i asked devaun if he had a girlfriend. his face lit up and he showed me a big grin as he told me that he just got himself a girlfriend this morning. that news made us both smile... and laugh even. i think that is so interesting. it takes next to nothing to bring people together. and it seems that it takes next to nothing to tear us apart. devaun is black and i am white. he was wearing baggy jeans, a big t-shirt, nice kicks, and a white cap while i was in shorts, a small t-shirt, flip flops, and dorky glasses. he posed in front of the camera, posing this way and that, while i tried to capture the spirit of our time together. and we both laughed it up over getting a girlfriend. it can be so easy.

thanks devaun. it was good meeting you, man.