The Orange High Tops

A few weeks after I took the photo of the yellow car, I found myself in NYC, riding the subway. I had been applying my new perspective on street photography, and though some shots are decent, that doesn’t mean they stand out or belong in a portfolio.

I was en route to SoHo for the day, head on a swivel, maximum alertness. People entered and exited the car at the next stop, and once everyone had settled in their place, I saw it. A man sitting on the orange seat, wearing orange Converse High Tops, yet another moment of matching colors. I was in the right place, at the right time, again. I was elated. I already had my camera around my neck, ready to capture at a moment’s notice, but as I stared at the man, he stared right back. He didn’t want his picture taken, but I also knew he didn’t understand why I wanted to take a picture. He started fidgeting. I knew he was going to get up to find another place to sit far away from me. I’m not shy about taking pictures in public; you really can’t be with street photography. I brought the camera towards my eye, adjusting my settings as I lifted it off my chest and snapped a single photo. I assumed the man understood what I was taking a picture of because the camera was pointed downward at his feet; it was clear his face was not in the frame. Still, he must not have been happy because he immediately tucked his feet into the cover of darkness under his seat. I gave him my best apologetic wave. I even mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.” Are the orange pairs of Converse rare? He was acting like they were rare.

Anyway, I got another shot against the odds, and I’m happy with it. I think it’s crazy that I was able to get a shot like this not once, but twice. Just by happenstance, in a particular place, at a particular time, a spontaneous composition appears, and I’m able to get the shot. Perhaps these moments happen more often than we think; there just isn’t anyone there to photograph them. What’s that line about the tree falling in the woods and no one’s around to hear it? Maybe that’s why they say “pics or it didn’t happen.”