Spring Deep Dive into Seattle Street Photography

Over the past 10 weeks, on multiple occasions I have found myself crouched down in front of large puddles. I stare into them, looking for anything, tilting my head up to the landscape and back down at the water, begging for an interesting photo to be had. I crab waddle side to side, shifting my perspective on the reflection, trying to grab more or isolate my frame. I sit like this for minutes at a time.

 I’ll take a few pictures, envisioning the gold I have captured. Just to get back home and be disappointed. I’ll click forward to my next image, then the next, then the next. Almost nothing will look quite as nice as I remembered. But sometimes, a photo will tell the story I had wanted it to. That’s a great feeling. 

I think that’s what I have been enjoying about street photography. It keeps me actively searching for both beauty and story. When I go out for the purpose of photography, I become vigilant about each shadow, person, color, cloud, building and how these pieces of the world talk to each other. It’s hard to find anything. Nearly every potential image is incoherent gibberish. But sometimes, the elements line up for a conversation to be seen.