Street Photography - San Diego
Crazy times we’re living in right now. Shortly after the Coronavirus first hit the news I was in our local Trader Joe’s. What a scene. Majority of the shelves were empty and people were walking around like they just woke up on the moon. It hit me shortly after that American’s in general, but more so those living in places like southern California, are quite privileged. And the notion of not having 1,000 food options at their finger tips is quite mind blowing to them. I’m certainly not downplaying the severity of this pandemic, but the whole scenario in Trader Joe’s was quite sad. And that same thing was happening all over the country. It just seemed like people had no idea what they would do if they couldn’t buy food from a store 8 days a week. I’ve been very fortunate to travel quite a bit. A lot of the destinations have been beautiful and some have been the very definition of 3rd World. Places like India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Haiti where having food everyday is a bonus. They understand it isn’t a reality to have 3 heaping meals on the kitchen table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That is, if they have a kitchen table at all. Still though, despite having a high level of desperation amongst those people, they still seems to live with a certain positive and friendliness. Most American’s can’t go ten minutes without their cellphones. I’m guilty of it too, but it’s important in these situations to think out side the box. People here are nervous about the virus for good reason, but it doesn’t help to completely lose all rational thought. There is always another way. And buying out the supermarket of every toilet paper roll is not it. We all need to calm down and adapt to the changes. We’re all in this shitty situation together. What does this have to do with street photography? Nothing really. Except that the streets are what I have to photography right now. Since the quarantine hit, business came to a very abrupt halt. Any shoot that was about to happen, is on hold at best. I refuse to let this whole thing take away photography from me though. The streets aren’t my first choice, nor do they make me money. But they keep me sane and keep me sharp. Just like everything else, you need to practice. I want to practice. Going more than a few days without picking up a camera for me is torture. I turn into a grouchy asshole. So the streets it is. They have always been something I turn to for relaxation. It’s almost meditative being out there with no agenda or expectations. Even if it’s just for an hour or two, it makes me a better person.
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