I moved to Denver in January and my car gave up the ghost in May.
My car went to my apartment and I went to my college graduation.
I'd be on foot for the next three years.
The world is different at street level. People, colors, smells. Instead of a world I watched through a windshield as it warped by, it became a world I lived in.
Taking an occasional picture with my phone was a fun way to interrupt the tap, tap, tap of my footsteps, but mostly it was just fodder for obscure memes. I wasn't good at photography, so I carved out a little corner with jokes.
A joke was my goal when my sister, her family, and her husband's brother and his family (click here for a diagram) were visiting Denver and asked if I'd take their picture in front of the iconic Union Station.
While they tried to get everyone in place, I decided to take the picture before the pose—just trying to be funny.
The secret truth of all class clowns is that we use humor to bury our deep, raw sincerity —a sincerity that accidentally came through in this image.
I loved this image. Dad checking a diaper. Little cousin looking on. Moms trying to organize the mess.
In The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis writes that friendship sounds like, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one." and that was my startled reaction when I reviewed the image.
It was how I saw the world: unguarded, chaotic, hilarious. And somehow, quit by accident, that world view ended up in in a photo.
At the time, I didn't know what "voice" was and I certainly didn't know what "street photography" was, but this photo, taken almost by accident, was the first of many steps that would change my life forever.
2019
This was a weird year. Grad school rejected my appeal, so I was officially dismissed. I quickly landed a full time job and an apartment two miles away from it. Still on foot, I'd grab images of the world I walked through.
Obligatory landscapes:
Cheesy patterns:
Denver architecture:
Denver weather:
But what made me smile were the simple moments in real life.
Nieces and nephews being adorable:
Two old guys meeting for breakfast and Bible study at Chic-fil-a.:
A comfortable couple on the light rail:
I loved these photos and would occasionally wonder if I should get a "real" camera and try my hand at "photography".
As if on cue, Apple announced their latest iPhone release which introduced a feature I'd been craving: a wide-angle lens. I watched the release plotting out how I could justify the upgrade when my sister-in-law, Cori (an artist in her own right) asked if I'd join her on a "365 Days of Art" project: making one thing, every day, for the year 2020.
My oldest brother had done this challenge when he first got into photography and I figured it was perfect. I'd get the new phone, take at least one photo a day and, if I still enjoyed photography, I'd get a "real" camera.
I picked up the new phone and was thrilled with the results.
The colors were great, the details were great. I was stoked for the project. 2020 was going to be the best year yet.