Photography is a strange and entitled behavior. It’s a compulsion I enjoy and find obnoxious, not unlike much of my personality; two wolves tearing each other to shreds.
I’m especially drawn to and horrified by the prospect of photographing people; no particular people, just p-e-o-p-l-e, like all the bigshot shuttermonkeys out here.
If you’ve been following for long enough, you might remember how I marked my official shift from “”reading about photography”” to “”doing photography”” by walking up to three people and asking them to use a remote to take three photos of themselves with my phone. Since then, I’ve approached a handful of strangers for their portraits, but not many, and only ever in one go when I was very mentally prepared.
Today, I set my mind on asking someone in particular; the deli owner I met in Aurora. I psyched myself up the whole bus ride there, composing the shot in my head, imagining the different expressions he may choose to make.
When I got there, I grabbed a can of Celsius from the fridge and worked up my nerve to ask. He said: “I’d rather not.” I said: “yeah, I get that.”
“But thanks for asking,” he added. “Oh, for sure, I’m trying to get into the habit of asking people more often,” I replied.
Then I added, after a beat: “It’s because you look like a rock star.” He laughed.
“Have a nice day!”
x
“Are you gonna take your camera or do you just use your phone for low key nights?”
“I’m thinking about it.
It’s not a band I really care about;
Just something to do.”
“Take a camera.”
Assorted scenes on a Friday night.
Swipe to see some fun with bokeh; I think there was a difference of one stop between the two shots of the pint glass, but I don’t really remember.
x
“Why “
“Because maybe you’ll see something so cool.”
“Ok I will “
I almost never take pictures like these, but I wanted to compare these two lenses wide open – look at that buttery bokeh background. Yum. Also, it seems to be a photography rite of passage since days of yore.
x
“Can’t wait to see what pictures you end up taking”
“If any haha”
More photography,
just because.