The Sentinel

The thing I love about street photography is I don’t go out shooting for the express purpose of capturing interesting human moments. They just happen. And finding them is a matter of luck and time, and also observation. Paying attention to all around you really helps.

I don’t know what is going on in this photo. I could be she lost a contact lens. It could be she is trying to read her phone. But one thing is for sure. He has been here before. The patience and the stoic manner read as a man familiar with the situation. He has been doing this for her maybe most of his life. At least that is the story I tell myself.

I like the story of faithfulness and patience that goes through my head when I see this photo. You may have another story to guess at. Probably do in truth. But it won’t stray too far from what I see. She is in a struggle. He is waiting and watching over her as she deals with whatever is her concern.

This is an image that grew on me over the years. I liked it but it was in a day of photographing that was not about street photography but about cityscapes and this image was sandwiched between many unrelated photos. But archive digging is a favourite pastime for me.

Going into my archives and I will always find those images that don’t belong with the others. Just random moments that catch my eye and are soon forgotten. It is one of the main reason I do archive digging – my memory for these images is short, they made little emotional impact on me which makes them harder to recall. I have found many photos this way – photos without immediate intention but taken in a flash.

Ultimately, this collection of random, unintentional photos becomes my street photography portfolio. And I love it.

I hope she found what she was looking for and I hope he is still standing vigil over her. Lovely, or not…