A picture story is what the job description of a photographer consists of. Whether we realize it or not, each of us has a unique and individual vision and interpretation of the world, and photographers are only distinguishable from the masses because they are lucky enough to be able to show others what they see through their photographs. While others in my class showed their stories of idyllic islands in Indonesia, I chose to stay here in the city and visit our local Chinatown.
What I expected was not what I saw. The Chinatown I was expecting to see was one that was kept in a state of New Year celebrations all year long, paper dragons being constantly paraded down an alley strewn with confetti and stalls weighted down with firecrackers and incense.
The reality was vastly different, and yet here and there in the hidden corners lingered elements of my former ideal. Chinatown was a single alley that was lined with basically three types of stalls: food, tourist products, and flowers. Hanging from windows were the remnants left over from Chinese New Year, golden goats painted on signs and doors, lanterns connecting lampposts and red streamers stuck in the wheels of old bicycles.
Despite this distinct lack of anything remotely resembling old clichés, there was something there that is missing from those spotless Hollywood sets, and it was the tangible feel and sounds of vibrant life that filled the smiles, eyes, and daily lives of the local storekeepers. Upon walking into the street, I knew that I needed to do my best to capture that life.
This photo is my favorite of the five that I printed. I think that it shows his work and the culture that it belongs to. He is cooking chestnuts, an old practice in the middle of the street and scent could be smelled from pretty far away. I caught him unawares with this photo, but after seeing me there, he smiled and laughed.
This man is selling cheap fruits that have come from outside the city. When I took this picture, a man (who looked like he hadn’t showered in days) came up and bought several bunches of bananas before stuffing them into is messenger bag.
This man had a line leading from his stall far down the street. Apparently his drink was popular.
These two women were extremely nice. They were selling peacock feathers (my mom bought ten) and seemed almost impossibly excited to sell them to us. I thought that the feathers were uniquely patterned, even surrounded by flower stalls as they were. I also took this photo for its display of the ethnic diversity that occurs even in a cultural center such as Chinatown.
I believe that anything that makes you stop and look twice (or several times) deserves a picture. I can honestly say I looked several times at this man standing on his head, mostly because it was something I hadn't really seen before, and haven't seen since. He stood out from everything else, and yet somehow fit right in to this crazy place.
