An Unexpected Friend

Minneapolis, MN – April 12, 2013 – I like to take pictures of people on the bus. Partially because of my love of street photography and partially because the diverse groups of people that end up accompanying me during my commute; each of them with their own unique expressions and mannerisms.  Keeping an eye out for these things has led me to a lot of cool shots, but on this day I had a particularly special encounter. As I got on the bus home, I noticed an old man who looked really interesting. He had strong eyes and an observant yet withdrawn expression being lit up by the white light of the of the window next to him. I tried to reach for my camera so that I could get a cool “candid” shot of his expression but that didn’t really work. On the bus, the hardest thing to do nonchalantly is reach for your DSLR. He noticed me almost immediately, and I could tell, even though he’d glanced away, that he was definitely keeping me in his peripheral vision.

I was disappointed but still determined to take a picture. I don’t know why I even tried but I awkwardly sat down across the aisle from him and tried to shoot from the hip as if I still had an ounce of candidness left in this situation. I looked at my camera’s LCD. All the shots we’re terrible. But in the last shot I noticed something odd. The man was looking down. I then looked back to see that he had a camera in his lap and that he was taking pictures of me back! “You took my picture!” I exclaimed. The man looked startled. For most photographers those words usually lead to a negative situation. “You must be a street photographer!” I continued in excitement. His cautioned look turned into a pleased grin as he nodded in response. “I’m a street photographer too!” I said. He gave me permission to sit with him and we talked about photographic theory and history for the rest of the bus ride. As it turns out, this man worked at my University as a staff photographer before he retired, and now he lives not five blocks from my house. Before I got off the bus I formally asked him for his portrait and he agreed. It was one of the most exciting finds I have ever had. To this day we still talk and even go shooting together in downtown. Photo by Louis Fine.