josiah . 22 years old / denver . colorado
on the first very hot day of the season, i stepped outside in shorts and a t-shirt and walked leisurely in the quaint south pearl neighborhood, taking in the sunshine and looking for strangers. after several blocks, i came across a store called “5 green boxes” and saw a young man standing on the front stoop. he looked extremely kind and i liked his hat - those were the two factors contributing to my asking him to be the day’s stranger.
i asked him if he was working. he said he was. i asked if he might be up for being today’s stranger anyway and he said he was as long as he could take care of customers when they needed a hand. deal. 5 green boxes turned out to be a bit busier than i anticipated, but i didn’t have any other pressing obligations, so i hung around for a while.
josiah is from denver, born and raised. he laughed when he said that, but he seemed to still be embracing the place he is has always been. i often wonder what that feels like. i have moved so much that "home" is an altogether foreign concept. he has been working for the owners of the shop for three years and he said they are good people. if the people they hire are any sign at all of their character, then josiah is proof of them being wonderful. he was so kind. so calm. he struck me as a refreshingly gentle person, seemingly sharing a contagious kind of peace with everyone he comes into contact with.
during short breaks in the waves of customers, i took several photographs of josiah. having my regular workflow interrupted was a nice change of pace and it helped me understand that i still have some growing room in the area of thinking on my feet. josiah was, not surprisingly, very patient with me, though.
josiah has been taking a break from school, but will be going back in the fall to finish his degree in art history. he said his dream job would be to design exhibitions - working with individual artists to create shows and providing viewers with an interesting way to see them. i’d like to think that one day i will need to call on josiah to give me some professional help.
thanks so much for your time today, josiah.
on the first very hot day of the season, i stepped outside in shorts and a t-shirt and walked leisurely in the quaint south pearl neighborhood, taking in the sunshine and looking for strangers. after several blocks, i came across a store called “5 green boxes” and saw a young man standing on the front stoop. he looked extremely kind and i liked his hat - those were the two factors contributing to my asking him to be the day’s stranger.
i asked him if he was working. he said he was. i asked if he might be up for being today’s stranger anyway and he said he was as long as he could take care of customers when they needed a hand. deal. 5 green boxes turned out to be a bit busier than i anticipated, but i didn’t have any other pressing obligations, so i hung around for a while.
josiah is from denver, born and raised. he laughed when he said that, but he seemed to still be embracing the place he is has always been. i often wonder what that feels like. i have moved so much that "home" is an altogether foreign concept. he has been working for the owners of the shop for three years and he said they are good people. if the people they hire are any sign at all of their character, then josiah is proof of them being wonderful. he was so kind. so calm. he struck me as a refreshingly gentle person, seemingly sharing a contagious kind of peace with everyone he comes into contact with.
during short breaks in the waves of customers, i took several photographs of josiah. having my regular workflow interrupted was a nice change of pace and it helped me understand that i still have some growing room in the area of thinking on my feet. josiah was, not surprisingly, very patient with me, though.
josiah has been taking a break from school, but will be going back in the fall to finish his degree in art history. he said his dream job would be to design exhibitions - working with individual artists to create shows and providing viewers with an interesting way to see them. i’d like to think that one day i will need to call on josiah to give me some professional help.
thanks so much for your time today, josiah.
You did an amazing job capturing his gentleness in the close-up. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBEST guy ever. Biggest heart I know.
ReplyDeletean old friend, always dependable, and yes, always kind.
ReplyDeleteLovely face on this man, a sweet gentleness and the uplighting is different than what you usually do. Light must have been reflecting off of something below? Great capture, one of my favorites.
ReplyDeletehe really is fantastic
ReplyDeletethis picture glows!
ReplyDeletei like him
ReplyDeletehe makes me smile.