Zen Photography

It should be obvious to anybody viewing my photostream that I have returned to the streets of Detroit. But with mixed feelings. For one thing, as I keep mentioning, the city is much cleaner, cosmetically, than when I started shooting there over six years ago. The devastation has been covered up with boards, and many buildings have been ripped down. I gave up last autumn for three reasons: 1) the cosmetic clean-up, 2) feeling overwhelmed with the situation in the city, and 3) too many other people flitting around the city armed with cameras.

My cameras went back on the shelf, that part of my existence ceased.

There are still bad sections that I'm exploring and documenting. And the city seems to be erupting with danger again. Shootings, arson, etc. I have been lucky so far not to be on the scene, or an integral part of, that.

Funny story...the other day I spotted to very attractive Asian women standing in front of a church in a rather bad part of the city. I thought they might be tourists and did not realize that they might be endangering themselves by walking around. I drove around the neighborhood a bit, as I usually do, exploring streets and a while later saw them walking together down a side street, heading into an area that is not only unsafe but that has largely been blocked off and closed down for construction. I pulled up to them and told them they might not realize how dangerous it was for them to be strolling down the street as they were. They politely thanked me and continued on.

Either they were really tourists determined to see the sights, or, as it dawned on me later, prostitutes trolling ass. I'll never know. But I do regret that I did not take their photo.

I'm looking to expand my photo horizons, and find something new to explore. I'm also trying to return to that state of mind I used to have of no-thought photography, just look and shoot and check it out when I got home. That's one main reason I can't take others with me as talking and chitter-chatter just destroy that mood.