Do You See What I See?
When I was growing up, society struggled with my race.
I didn't realize it at the time, but I didn't fit neatly into one ethnicity and invariably the questions would come up in conversation.
"What are you?"
"Are you from, [insert country X here]?"
(By the way I wouldn't recommend the leading question approach, you never know how insulting that can be culturally.)
"Is she your maid?" Yes, while living overseas (on a military base) in Central America, someone mistook me as my white mother's domestic servant -- I was 15 at the time.
(Again, another good question to avoid.)
Since I grew up in a military bubble literally most of my life, I was able to escape society's struggle with race at an early age.
What do you see when you look at people around you?
Do you catch yourself trying to categorize them?
Do you bring it up in conversation?
I admit I do now, but for me it isn't about race, as a photographer I'm imagining a story for my image.
Sometimes I get an opportunity to solicit their story (see my 9 January 19 "Streets Unplugged" post) but most time it's up to my imagination.
Curious to see how someone else saw my street photography, I showed a published poet some images and asked him, "What do you see?"
Here are a few of the results in his words:
All poetry written and owned by Doc Krinberg.
Want to see more street photography from my travels? Check out my Travel Locations Gallery (this link will take you to my Laura Hatcher Photography website.)
Want to read more poetry or literature from Doc Krinberg, you can find his work on Amazon
Laura Hatcher is a retired Naval Officer, Mother, Harley Rider and Published Professional Photographer located in Northern Virginia.
Like what you read? Please hit the "Subscribe" link above to receive future blog posts via your email.
Comments
Post a Comment