Sarasota, Farmer’s Market Baby
“Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.”
— David Allen Harvey
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Sometimes there isn’t time. I took this photograph in the most transient of moments, walking down the street at the very crowded downtown farmer’s market. I had no time to think or even to consciously feel, only to sense an opportunity for a street photo.
Street photography is like that. It takes optimism and trust that an impulse to photograph is based on something real albeit intangible. It’s important to be vigilant, focused, yet relaxed. And of course, to have quick reflexes. One photographer compared this to a gunslinger’s trigger finger. If one waits for the thinking or the feeling, the photo can be dead.
Thankfully, there is another stage in the process and that is scrutinizing the picture on a computer. Now, with time to savor, viewing their own work, what the photographer had sensed unconsciously, morphs into a sharper image. When I did this, I didn’t experience any of the classic feeling words such as mad, glad. sad, bad. What I did notice was empathy.
Have you ever walked past a hedge and seen isolated fresh new leaves emerging between the older ones? The new leaves are a light green, soft and tender to the touch. With time, they too will become dark and thick skinned like their brethren. In the meantime, while they toughen up, they are vulnerable to all sorts of threats.
Will adults hardened by life nurture this innocent miracle of creation with tenderness, wisdom and open-mindedness or will they inflict their biases, prejudices, and close-minded beliefs onto it? I feel concern and empathy for the infant.
Mother is there. She is smiling, not hiding behind sunglasses and stern expression. Yes, she will protect her child. Now some hope seeps in.
If I could have one wish, it would be to relive my time with my own children as they are facing the challenges of growing up. To be more patient, sensitive and gentle with them. Now I feel sad at the thought.
Postscript: I discuss this essay with my daughter. She reassures me. Now I feel humility, gratitude and joy.
All these feelings from a fleeting moment.
