Watching as people go about their lives. Capturing them as they go through their daily routines. A part of the ebb and flow of society. Their paths a mystery to me, all I get to see is just a moment. My goal is to capture that slice of time and show it to you.
The only place in Chinatown that felt like I was in China. Man in a suit, walking through a courtyard, on his way somewhere. The sound of shoes on stone, that particular echo, the way the air sat. It was like being back in Beijing sitting in the courtyard of the sleepy hotel I found deep in the Hutongs. Those Hutongs no longer exist. But my memory of them lives on.
He had just walked out of this market, bottles jangling loudly in the cart. I wonder what he bought. Was he going to meet someone? Was he going to drink alone? Why did he chose this market? Was it his regular one? It's strange, but I wonder about those kinds of things.
Most of the businesses in this back street of Chinatown were shuttered. It was really kind of depressing. I could imagine a time when people bustled through here. The sounds of life echoing off the narrow alleys. Everywhere warm with life.Today, though, it was just this brightly dressed woman and lonely man eating a sandwich.
I always look down an alley when I can. The mysterious and ordinary abound. Mysterious to me, ordinary to them. What shoppe were they cleaning for? Was it theirs? The man in back his son, destined to take over the business? Or maybe the other way around? The press of life was almost crushing as I stood between these walls.
So, that was my first People in Pictures, Chinatown edition.
I hope you enjoyed looking through my images and thinking about the questions and thoughts I posed. In many ways it's fun to be the outsider, observing, catching those slices of life. Ever present, I see so much. Take a minute and look around when you're out and about. Just pay attention. Pose questions about strangers and make up stories. It does wonders for both curiosity and imagination :)
[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 34.061975 lat -118.239584 long People in Pictures (PIP) - Chinatown, Los Angeles d3scr)