Secret Service


Near Central Park. I was pricing hotels tonight. Getting the itch for sure.

I found good characters. I framed it right. I missed the focus.
My whole life people told me that if I went to New York City, I would fall in love with the place. I never paid them much mind.
I never went until I was over 33 years old and travelling for work. I was there for a week. I found it interesting. I spent an awesome day wandering the streets and taking photos. At the end of the week, I was ready to come home.
I decided it was ok. I certainly hadn’t fallen in love with the city. I didn’t care so much if I ever returned.
But then a strange thing happened. I started dreaming about how much of New York City I hadn’t yet seen. I started to wonder what was down those alleys and on those many streets I’d never even come close to seeing. I started to get obsessed with going back to take more photos.
There was just nowhere else on earth that I knew of that was *that* visually rich with buildings and people and stories unfolding right in front of you all the time.
I did go back a few times. Each time I had the same thought when I was leaving ‘Well, there. I had a nice visit and now I can move on and explore another part of the world’. And each time, after awhile, I’d get thinking about it again and decide I absolutely had to go back one more time and try to get some good photos again.
I keep a copy of Bob Shamis book New York in Color near my desk where I work (along with a bunch of other photo books). It caught my eye today. I looked through it again. I think it’s happening again. I’m feeling like I need to get back there and take some photos.
Maybe it’s because I missed this one. And at least a couple of dozen more.
I want it back. I need a do over.

The last of the PEI photos from this trip.
Graeme Stewart-Robertson may have made the best photo of Germain Street I’ve ever seen.
Sunrise

The inbetween

The other inbetween

Sunset


If you’ve never seen this BBC documentary on William Eggleston, you should make time to watch it.