Artist Statement:
Interesting things happen when you walk around in public with a camera and no sense of purpose. This is an idea that has been at the back of my mind as I’m photographing, but I’ve never put words to it until now, and I like how it sounds. That may explain why so much of my short time with photography has been devoted to creating street photos.
Often while taking these photos I find myself in a specific mindset that I feel was brought about by entering college or just being a young, entering-his-twenties kid. You know, thinking about making choices that will ultimately shape who I become makes me wonder how all of these unknown characters on the street ended up being who they are.
In a place like New Brunswick (or any city for that matter) everyone moves with purpose (or makes it seem like they are at least). Everyone that walks past you on George Street or gets on the bus while you’re getting off is doing their own thing. All this movement on the streets makes me wonder what everyone has to do that is so important.
Of course stopping to ask for a picture can take anyone right out of their mysterious personal mission. So to really appreciate these moments later on film, these photos have to be taken quietly and candidly, all the while acting like I too have some important reason to be walking down the street or standing on the bus.
However, some of my favorite images come from times when I have been noticed wandering. I’ve been yelled to from across the street to…“take a pichur of THE BEST RAPPER IN PHILADELPHIA!!”. And once another man called out to me. He wore a striped shirt, did not speak English, and was hanging around outside a bar on French Street. He pointed at my camera and assumed this sort of triumphant stance. That guy gave me a great shot.
And last November, I took a photo of a stray cat under a parked truck on George Street, and a woman carrying her groceries informed me that this cat (who was totally feral and without an owner) was in fact… her cat. I asked nicely if it was all right that I was taking pictures of her cat, and with no words on her part or prompt on mine, she fished the cat from under the truck and gave me one of my favorite shots.
To me, the most interesting subjects are those that make no effort to hide anything about them. I try to take pictures of buildings, people, or moments on the street that have a character entirely their own, even if it is something as banal as a guy unloading groceries from a truck or a particular alley in NB. These unplanned, un-posed, images of ‘common’ scenes let me (and whoever else wants to see) pause and admire these moments without having to stop and stare on the street, because that can be downright uncomfortable.
Often while taking these photos I find myself in a specific mindset that I feel was brought about by entering college or just being a young, entering-his-twenties kid. You know, thinking about making choices that will ultimately shape who I become makes me wonder how all of these unknown characters on the street ended up being who they are.
In a place like New Brunswick (or any city for that matter) everyone moves with purpose (or makes it seem like they are at least). Everyone that walks past you on George Street or gets on the bus while you’re getting off is doing their own thing. All this movement on the streets makes me wonder what everyone has to do that is so important.
Of course stopping to ask for a picture can take anyone right out of their mysterious personal mission. So to really appreciate these moments later on film, these photos have to be taken quietly and candidly, all the while acting like I too have some important reason to be walking down the street or standing on the bus.
However, some of my favorite images come from times when I have been noticed wandering. I’ve been yelled to from across the street to…“take a pichur of THE BEST RAPPER IN PHILADELPHIA!!”. And once another man called out to me. He wore a striped shirt, did not speak English, and was hanging around outside a bar on French Street. He pointed at my camera and assumed this sort of triumphant stance. That guy gave me a great shot.
And last November, I took a photo of a stray cat under a parked truck on George Street, and a woman carrying her groceries informed me that this cat (who was totally feral and without an owner) was in fact… her cat. I asked nicely if it was all right that I was taking pictures of her cat, and with no words on her part or prompt on mine, she fished the cat from under the truck and gave me one of my favorite shots.
To me, the most interesting subjects are those that make no effort to hide anything about them. I try to take pictures of buildings, people, or moments on the street that have a character entirely their own, even if it is something as banal as a guy unloading groceries from a truck or a particular alley in NB. These unplanned, un-posed, images of ‘common’ scenes let me (and whoever else wants to see) pause and admire these moments without having to stop and stare on the street, because that can be downright uncomfortable.
Derek Springsteen