don . 66 years old / denver . colorado
filling in for my co-worker, i was scheduled to be at work for a 12-hour shift today. i had to be at work before it was light enough to photograph and i was supposed to close up the shop long after dark, so i was concerned with how i was going to find today's stranger. fortunately, someone covered me for a little while. on a mission and in a bit of a hurry, i stepped outside into a cold, grey day. the idea of this project is to spread a non-hurried message, so it does feel a bit lousy when i am being hypocritical.
soon into the search, i ran into a friend that i have not seen in some time, so we chatted for a few minutes. then i asked a couple of different people who turned me down. one man didn't have the time and a set of girls did not bother stopping to hear what i had to say. i followed someone else for a few steps, but they ducked into a chocolate store. feeling the pressure of time, i kept to my task, but that all too familiar feeling of the scary unknown was creeping in.
i spotted an older man sitting on a large duffel bag. i noticed his beard and his broken glasses and then saw how refreshingly kind his face looked. i have struggled with deciding who i should and who i shouldn't ask to participate in the project, but have been trying to expand my boundaries in all directions. i fear that i will be accused of exploiting someone, but i know that i am not exploiting. i am just telling their stories. i would like for the people i meet and photograph to be of a sound mind, but i am not sure who gets to decide what is sound and what is not. at any rate, today i decided to ask this man if he would be today's stranger.
i explained what i was doing and he enthusiastically replied, "great!" then, after i asked if he would be today's stranger, he said, "shoot!". he was immediately warm and had a zeal that is hard to come by. he told me he was waiting for the bus, so if it showed up he was going to be getting on it. that added a bit of pressure to my task, so i quickly wrote down the essentials and asked him to sign a release and then fired off a few shots, only asking him to stand up from his seat on his duffel. when i was finished, his bus had not arrived, so we talked for a few minutes.
don was on his way to "can land" to exchange the cans he has collected for money. his duffel was packed full of crushed aluminum. i asked him if this was his main source of income, but he said he also receives social security. originally from santa fe, don told me that it has turned into the "aspen of new mexico" and that they have "stopped charging by the foot and started charging by the inch". he moved up to colorado in the mid-90s and seems to be enjoying himself. he told me knew a lot of photographers and painters from santa fe and then praised this project. he thought it was a great idea.
don asked me if i ever photographed at the park. after clarifying which park he was referring to, don explained that there was a coffee shop for the homeless near the capitol building. i told don that i have been struggling with knowing who i should and shouldn't be photographing and he had some good things to say. he asked me if i had read "a people's history of the united states". i hadn't, so he explained that it was a history told by people whose voices are rarely heard. he told me that if i read that book and continued this project, then my photographs would start looking different. the author of the book, howard zinn, died today, which is maybe what made don think of it. now that i've heard about it, i can hardly wait to get my hands on it and start pouring through it.
don's bus came and, after wishing me good luck, he took off. i made a few short notes and then walked back to the café feeling inspired, but also fighting back tears. if i had it my way i would have paid the bus fare to go with don just to listen to him talk. i would have given him a hand with his cans and invited him for a cup of coffee. i want to take it to the next level with the people i meet. i want to dig deeper and learn more about them. it feels that i am bursting at the seems to tell stories and, i have to admit, the little bit i get to present on here rarely feels adequate.
thanks so much, don.
filling in for my co-worker, i was scheduled to be at work for a 12-hour shift today. i had to be at work before it was light enough to photograph and i was supposed to close up the shop long after dark, so i was concerned with how i was going to find today's stranger. fortunately, someone covered me for a little while. on a mission and in a bit of a hurry, i stepped outside into a cold, grey day. the idea of this project is to spread a non-hurried message, so it does feel a bit lousy when i am being hypocritical.
soon into the search, i ran into a friend that i have not seen in some time, so we chatted for a few minutes. then i asked a couple of different people who turned me down. one man didn't have the time and a set of girls did not bother stopping to hear what i had to say. i followed someone else for a few steps, but they ducked into a chocolate store. feeling the pressure of time, i kept to my task, but that all too familiar feeling of the scary unknown was creeping in.
i spotted an older man sitting on a large duffel bag. i noticed his beard and his broken glasses and then saw how refreshingly kind his face looked. i have struggled with deciding who i should and who i shouldn't ask to participate in the project, but have been trying to expand my boundaries in all directions. i fear that i will be accused of exploiting someone, but i know that i am not exploiting. i am just telling their stories. i would like for the people i meet and photograph to be of a sound mind, but i am not sure who gets to decide what is sound and what is not. at any rate, today i decided to ask this man if he would be today's stranger.
i explained what i was doing and he enthusiastically replied, "great!" then, after i asked if he would be today's stranger, he said, "shoot!". he was immediately warm and had a zeal that is hard to come by. he told me he was waiting for the bus, so if it showed up he was going to be getting on it. that added a bit of pressure to my task, so i quickly wrote down the essentials and asked him to sign a release and then fired off a few shots, only asking him to stand up from his seat on his duffel. when i was finished, his bus had not arrived, so we talked for a few minutes.
don was on his way to "can land" to exchange the cans he has collected for money. his duffel was packed full of crushed aluminum. i asked him if this was his main source of income, but he said he also receives social security. originally from santa fe, don told me that it has turned into the "aspen of new mexico" and that they have "stopped charging by the foot and started charging by the inch". he moved up to colorado in the mid-90s and seems to be enjoying himself. he told me knew a lot of photographers and painters from santa fe and then praised this project. he thought it was a great idea.
don asked me if i ever photographed at the park. after clarifying which park he was referring to, don explained that there was a coffee shop for the homeless near the capitol building. i told don that i have been struggling with knowing who i should and shouldn't be photographing and he had some good things to say. he asked me if i had read "a people's history of the united states". i hadn't, so he explained that it was a history told by people whose voices are rarely heard. he told me that if i read that book and continued this project, then my photographs would start looking different. the author of the book, howard zinn, died today, which is maybe what made don think of it. now that i've heard about it, i can hardly wait to get my hands on it and start pouring through it.
don's bus came and, after wishing me good luck, he took off. i made a few short notes and then walked back to the café feeling inspired, but also fighting back tears. if i had it my way i would have paid the bus fare to go with don just to listen to him talk. i would have given him a hand with his cans and invited him for a cup of coffee. i want to take it to the next level with the people i meet. i want to dig deeper and learn more about them. it feels that i am bursting at the seems to tell stories and, i have to admit, the little bit i get to present on here rarely feels adequate.
thanks so much, don.
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