Street Photography
Manhole Cover — University of Delaware, 2001 #CL-005-08
I lived in the midst of the University of Delaware when I took a color picture of this manhole cover. A year later, I went back to re-shoot it when I was taking a black and white photography class at nearby Cecil Community College. I like this one better, particularly because a light rain had put a nice sheen on everything. The illusion that the bricks stretch into infinity and the way that the texture on the manhole cover echoes the pattern of the bricks help this photo to turn something mundane into something mesmerizing.
Kurdish Shoeshine Boys — Istanbul, 2001 #01-003-11
If you wear leather shoes to Istanbul, be prepared to be swarmed by shoeshine boys. Very, very tenacious shoeshine boys. Many of them are Kurds, most of them speak several languages, and none of them were in school. I gave these two some money to not shine my shoes and allow me to take their picture. This is one of my top 5 favorite photographs.
Coffee Shop Chair — Newark, Delaware, 2001 #CL-001-20
I really liked the chairs at Brew Ha Ha in Newark Delaware. Most of them were black, but there were a few blonde colored ones, and this is one of them. This is one of few photographs that I knew was going to come out well. The light playing on the chair was as cool in real life as it appears in this picture.
Pier 1 Diner — North East, Maryland, 2001 #CL-003-03
Breakfast at the Pier 1 was a Sunday morning ritual for us, and their scrapple was divine. This particular morning I was transfixed by my coffee, and I shot this photo before I pounced upon it. Actually, it looks like I took a sip before I took out the camera. Diner coffee is great, especially with a standard, plain, hefty mug. There is nothing pretentious about diner coffee, and you will never run out.
Ottoman House — Istanbul, Turkey, 2001 #01-017-20
This was our last night in Turkey, after two and a half weeks of exploring. I was feeling pretty sick when I took this picture, but we were out for a walk anyway. This is around 10:30 at night, with a single street lamp as a light source. This ramshackle, Ottoman-era house is in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul, not far from the famous Blue Mosque. When I took this picture I was just trying to finish off the roll of film. I was tired: of walking, of being sick, of taking pictures. Little did I know that this would be one of my favorites.
Barbershop Singers — Monroe, Wisconsin, 2002 #02-019-13
This was my last weekend at the end of a 4-month stay in Wisconsin. This wasn't just any weekend—this was Monroe's Cheese Days Festival, a celebration so cheesy that they only have it every other year. On the walk to the beer tent I passed this barber shop. I stayed and listened to the singers for a while, but I don't remember what song they were performing here. This is what I think of when I hear the term "Middle America."
Bike on Willy Street — Madison, Wisconsin, 2002 #02-017-06
Williamson Street, known as Willy Street by the locals, is a trendy spot in Madison, Wisconsin. This bike was planted out in front of one of the bike shops. I forget exactly why I was there, but I do recall that I paid a lot of money for a salad at the Weary Traveler. It was a very good salad.
Playing "Blueberry Hill" on Abandoned Piano — San Francisco, 2002 #02-009-23
I was staying at the youth hostel in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. This piano was sitting on the sidewalk for a couple of days before I decided to take a picture of it. While I was pulling out my camera, this woman walked over and started playing Fats Domino tunes. The fact that the piano was completely out of tune only added to this surreal experience.
House on Hyde Street — San Francisco, 2002 #02-009-25
On one of my day-long hikes through San Francisco, I followed Hyde Street away from the Tenderloin towards the famous zigzag of Lombard Street. This house looks just like hundreds of others in San Francisco, but there was something about the juxtaposition of the street lamp with the corner of the house that made me stop and take a picture. Strangely, I didn't really take any pictures of Lombard Street. I guess it's been done enough.
Jo's Cafe — Austin, Texas, 2002 #02-005-10
I tagged along with a couple of kids who were staying at the youth hostel to check out this cafe. One of them had come all the way from Seattle to tour the coffee shops of Austin during his spring break. This guy, whose name I forget, had a remarkable memory for details, and he took us on a hilarious tour of the state capital building where he repeated and embellished the information that he had learned on his tour the day before.
Chloe's Toes — Austin, Texas, 2002 #02-005-13
Chloe is an English girl (a young Lady by now, to be sure) I met while staying in New Orleans. We bumped into each other at the hostel in Austin, and she is the other "kid" I mentioned above. This is another spontaneous shot from Jo's cafe. Chloe was very self-conscious about her toes, but I did get her permission anyway.
French Quarter Fountain — New Orleans, 2002 #02-002-07
I'm not sure if these boys were showing off for me or for the little girl who was with them. This is the only shot I could get where they were not in some way molesting the poor statue.
Flying Tiger Scooter — New Orleans, 2002 #02-002-13
This scooter is cool in its own right, but it has a special place in my heart for another reason: it closely resembles my old boat. This is right outside of a coffee shop in the French Quarter, not far from Bourbon Street.
Louis Armstrong Park — New Orleans, 2002 #02-002-04
This is a statue of Louis Armstrong in the park that bears his name. I took this picture while I was on a walk with a kid from Canada who was hitch-hiking his way to Guatemala. I'm not sure if he ever made it.
Street Party — Washington, DC, 2001 #01-024-15
By chance I was able to experience a Reclaim the Streets event in DC. This involves a march ("It's not a protest") to a secretly predetermined city block, where everyone suddenly stops and begins to party while the ends of the block are roped off. This is, of course, illegal. The police patiently diverted traffic around this street in the Adams Morgan neighborhood for a couple of hours, while revelers played jump-rope, grilled soy-dogs, danced to the DJ, threw water balloons, and yes, drew on the sidewalk.
Shrimp Nite at the River Shack — Charlestown, Maryland, 2001 #CL-005-14
I lived in Charlestown for 2 years, about 100 yards from the River Shack. Every Thursday night you could get all the shrimp you could eat for about 12 bucks. Oh my. Needless to say, we had to limit our Shrimp Nite frequency to about once a month in order to not, um, die. There are actually no shrimp in this picture, because whoever sat at this table ate it all. Those round things in the bowl are "hush puppies," which are deep-fried cornbread balls designed to make you eat less shrimp. This customer wisely left them alone. My favorite part of this photo is the blurry string of lights in the background.
Sunken Boat at the Town Dock — Charlestown, Maryland, 2001 #CL-002-04
This is behind the house I lived in for 2 years. The boat had been left at the town dock well beyond the deadline for the season: this was February (you can see ice on the water). This morning I walked out the door and found this scene. A few days later, the boat was gone. I never saw the owner until the following spring, when I saw him on a roadside cleanup crew supervised by the sheriff's department. I can only speculate that his incarceration interfered with his boat maintenance.
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