vicky . 59 years old / denver . colorado
after picking up a few prints at a camera shop, i left my bicycle there and headed towards the 16th street mall to mail something at the post office. the day was closing, so i then set out in search of today's stranger. i walked a few blocks up the street and ended up beside vicky. she had a lot of character in her face and very kind eyes, so i began telling her about my project as we continued down the street. she burst out laughing and said, "yeah right!" i told her i wasn't kidding and explained that i really was photographing a stranger every day. she eventually stopped to better listen to me. there is often a moment in these conversations when the stranger realizes that i don't want sex, drugs, or money from them. i can see their demeanor change. it is actually quite touching.
vicky told me she was on "company time" and asked how long it would take. i told her it would take a few minutes. the thing about my time frame is that it is completely flexible. a few months ago, i told a man it would take a few minutes and he looked very put off by the idea of giving up that much of his time. two hours later, after he talked nearly the entire time, i had to break away from him. so.... it takes as long as the stranger allows. today it took a few minutes and then a couple more because i think vicky rather enjoyed the experience.
she told me she wasn't photogenic. i think everyone is photogenic. actually... i don't think that i am all that photogenic, but that is precisely the issue: very few people think of themselves as photogenic. it is a good thing we don't get to be the only judge of ourselves, right? i think vicky photographed very well, though.
she told me she was from south dakota and that "the best thing about south dakota was being from there". she never found it to be an appealing state, but now she looks at it differently. at her 30th high school reunion, she rekindled a flame with a former high school boyfriend. they are still together now and, as it turns out, he rides motorcycles. as an enthusiast, he rides to sturgis every year and brings vicky along. sturgis is a large motorcycle rally in the black hills of south dakota. now, vicky thinks of her home state as a beautiful place. isn't that just lovely? i think so. our relationship to one other can affect how we feel about so many other things.
thank you so much, vicky. it was a pleasure chatting with you today!
after picking up a few prints at a camera shop, i left my bicycle there and headed towards the 16th street mall to mail something at the post office. the day was closing, so i then set out in search of today's stranger. i walked a few blocks up the street and ended up beside vicky. she had a lot of character in her face and very kind eyes, so i began telling her about my project as we continued down the street. she burst out laughing and said, "yeah right!" i told her i wasn't kidding and explained that i really was photographing a stranger every day. she eventually stopped to better listen to me. there is often a moment in these conversations when the stranger realizes that i don't want sex, drugs, or money from them. i can see their demeanor change. it is actually quite touching.
vicky told me she was on "company time" and asked how long it would take. i told her it would take a few minutes. the thing about my time frame is that it is completely flexible. a few months ago, i told a man it would take a few minutes and he looked very put off by the idea of giving up that much of his time. two hours later, after he talked nearly the entire time, i had to break away from him. so.... it takes as long as the stranger allows. today it took a few minutes and then a couple more because i think vicky rather enjoyed the experience.
she told me she wasn't photogenic. i think everyone is photogenic. actually... i don't think that i am all that photogenic, but that is precisely the issue: very few people think of themselves as photogenic. it is a good thing we don't get to be the only judge of ourselves, right? i think vicky photographed very well, though.
she told me she was from south dakota and that "the best thing about south dakota was being from there". she never found it to be an appealing state, but now she looks at it differently. at her 30th high school reunion, she rekindled a flame with a former high school boyfriend. they are still together now and, as it turns out, he rides motorcycles. as an enthusiast, he rides to sturgis every year and brings vicky along. sturgis is a large motorcycle rally in the black hills of south dakota. now, vicky thinks of her home state as a beautiful place. isn't that just lovely? i think so. our relationship to one other can affect how we feel about so many other things.
thank you so much, vicky. it was a pleasure chatting with you today!
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