Guilty as charged. I use my camera to talk to people on the street and elsewhere as well. I point it in their face and wait for a response. I shake their hand and when they’re up for it, I chat with them a little. Right around Christmas, when it got really warm, I endlessly walked the streets of Ridgewood and Bushwick trying to talk to anyone who seemed nice enough in that moment when we crossed paths. It may seem like a random activity- and it kind of is- but it also isn’t. It’s funny, but I- like many others- really had to try to walk absent-mindedly in the streets. I read a book recently, The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle, that made it seem more acute than ever to stay in the present moment and connected to the people and things around me. And honestly, doing just that feels really good; one can experience and learn so many things. So I talked to these people, and here is what our interactions were like.

“You are beautiful! God bless you!”

This man was walking to the church on St. Nicholas. He kissed my hand in a very gentleman-like manner, and asked if he can take a picture of me.

Just a quick look and back to work.

I heard that back in the days, German ladies used to sweep the streets of Ridgewood every morning. This one wasn’t really German, and nor was she up for any talking (she was too busy), but she made me think of old-timey Ridgewood and all the nostalgia that comes with it.