Month: May 2020

One thing led to another, which led to another.

March 20, 2020, was the day I found out my internship with The Star News in Wilmington was canceled. My bags were already packed, my hopes were up, and I wanted to work for a paper and have guidance during a pandemic! Well, that wasn’t going to happen anymore so I did what I do best. Go out and shoot. I had no expectations but I had a full day of what photojournalists call feature hunting. The art of driving around and seeing what people are doing and photograph it uniquely. In school, I never had an entire day to drive around without expectations so this day became relaxed and fun.

I started my feature hunting journey at UNC Charlotte. Students were moving out of the dorms early due to covid-19 cutting their in-school semester short. Since I am 21 and have the appearance of a UNC Charlotte student, running around with a huge camera became a lot more comfortable. I was particularly pleased with the silhouette. The people don’t look like blogs, the light rail sign saying UNC charlotte provides location context. the Swiffer and cart show moving out, it’s visually interesting. Bingo. I ran across campus to get this shot. How they didn’t hear me or turn around I still don’t know.

Next stop Uptown/Downtown Charlotte. Uptown is a special kind of beast that I have never been drawn too or comfortable with being in by myself but this day I was ok. I stopped into an Irish pub that was remodeling and repainting because of the requirements to shut down due to the virus. The guy staining was cool and easy to talk to. I learned about his legendary converse shoes that have been with him through many wild adventures. Once the bars open back up I’ll have to stop in to see the pub in action.

I keep on with my search. I had an idea that near 5 o’clock people would be leaving from work and people equals photos so I’m game to see what the possibilities can be. Nearing 5 o’clock I stopped and talked with a security guard about photography learning about his interests and informing his curiosity about my gear and carrier aspirations. It was nice and while talking to him I noticed a guy standing with a cart of computers. I assumed it was covid working from home related so I told the security guard I had to go and photographed Sampath. He felt like a celebrity as I was photographing him loading the desktops into his car. It’s nice when others don’t get awkward while I photograph but instead embrace it. Surely I give plenty of people things to talk about at the dinner table. “Honey, I had the most random thing happen to me today. I was just minding my own business and this young girl with these big cameras came running up asking if she can take my picture! Hope she didn’t get my double chin!”

I knew the park would be a gold mine of people on such a beautiful warm day. I saw these cute kids playing from across the park and was hesitant to approach. Photographing kids can be really awkward when the parents start grilling you on “oh where will the photos go, can you send me them”, or not providing names or ages when I ask. I’m thankful I approached this group. The story of these little girls is that Kinsley and Evelyn met at the park on March 19th and quickly became friends. After they were done playing one of them had to leave and asked if they could come back to the park tomorrow? Of course the other heard that and wanted to do the same so the parents agreed to schedule another playdate for the following day. A playdate isn’t complete without sidewalk chalk, throwing balls, running around listening to music, and having meltdowns.

After photographing the kids for half an hour I turned around only to recognize that a couple was getting married right next to us! Corona Wedding ceremony I think yes! The wedding has already started so I had to approach awkwardly and remain respectful of the event. The photos didn’t come out great since I didn’t have my 70-200 but that’s ok it was still cool! Can I call myself a wedding photographer now?

I had spotted a man on a bench smoking a hookah from across the park at the beginning of my day and was curious but unsure if I felt comfortable enough to approach. He sat near where the wedding was taking place and following the ceremony approached offering a blessing to the newly married couple. I was to curios not to learn more. I approached his bench asking what kind of a religious figure he was and learning about his story. He offered me a seat on the bench just to simply talk. He has been sitting on the bench all day as a social experiment to see what kind of people will come up and talk to him. I was the second person that day. He was level headed and you could hear in his voice he had a past that made him the man he is today. I enjoyed the conversation because he asked about my story and we clicked on our enjoyment of meeting new people. It was an interesting and insightful conversation that I could have not happened because of discomfort.

The sun was going down and usually, I’d pack up but I was so elated since so many things just kept happening I didn’t want to go home just yet. I wandered around photographing some cool silhouettes in from of the colorful fountain still looking for moments and storytelling elements. I was again pretty proud of the silhouette of the girl jumping. She is framed in the blue fountain, with a recognizable shape, the bank of America building in the back gives location context and graphic in nature. Sounds familiar.

While photographing the silhouettes I had a boy approach me and ask if I could take his picture. At first, I thought he meant with his phone but apparently, he wanted me to do it with my camera. He was 17 and uncomfortable with how to phrase what he wanted me to do. It seemed like his friends maybe put him up to this so I was really hesitant to deal with immature teenage boys. But I was in a good mood and could use the practice with my flash so I agreed to do the photos. The boys were really funny giving each other gimmicky pose ideas and picking fun at each other. His friends mentioned it was for a Tinder profile so I was attempting to inform them of what a girl would look for. They made me comfortable and it wasn’t like work but fun. Props to me because I used my reporter’s notebook as a reflector and killed the game on these impromptu portraits.

Besides the actual portraits, I learned their stories. I learned that all 4 boys were homeless living at the homeless shelter downtown. They were ages 17, 18, 20, 23. So young. They didn’t want money or sympathy or anything along those lines but opened up to me. We had a long casual conversation while just hanging out in the park enjoying the night. Wyatt was the boy that originally approached me and while running to 7-11 to get a drink he asked if I wanted anything. It was sweet and made my heart happy to hear that he was a gentleman. I was respectful making sure to learn about them as humans instead of just their situation. One could make impressive bird calls, one plays guitar, one has traveled the entire east coast, and one played in a band. They all had different pasts and different reasons for being homeless. I learned what it’s really like being so young and dealing with so many unknowns. I learned how much they value their friendship with each other to keep themselves sane. I learned about how getting a bed to sleep on is part of a lottery system. I learned how the volunteers at the shelter can make an impact on the day positive and negative. It was truly a perspective-changing conversation. I am extremely grateful for meeting this group and happy that I could give them portraits that they can enjoy.

(For safety context this is a very well lit up park in a good area with other people around at 9:30 pm so I was safe.)

So yeah, to say the least, I had one hell of a day! One thing led to another which led me to another! My camera is not only a tool but it allows me to learn things I never would have otherwise and for that I am grateful.