Street photographer at Ray's LES

     Steven is a dedicated construction worker and has been for the past 15 years. During that time he’s gotten married and became the father to three beautiful children. His wife is a teacher and the five of them live in Queens. He’s a normal man with a normal family who lives a normal life. He’s seen New York City change for better and for worse but despite all this city has seen, his love for it has never wavered. Every now and then, he would catch himself daydreaming about a different life, one with more leisure and less stress, but ultimately he’s decided that he’s satisfied. One day after work, Steven decided to stop and grab some food after a long hard day. As he stood out on line near Ray’s on the lower east side, red stripe in hand waiting to place his order, a young woman with a camera caught his eye. She had brown curly hair, glasses, and a green Carhartt jacket. He watched as she allowed herself to become fully immersed with the city streets and the surrounding objects that were seemingly arbitrary. But it was clear that to her, nothing was random, nothing was useless and she saw beauty in everything. As she made her way through the block, snapping shots of pedestrians passing by, most of whom didn’t even notice, she was also making her way closer to Steven. Head down as she walked, looking through the shots she had captured, she stopped for a moment to focus on them more closely, when she heard a voice.

“How long have you been doing photography?” The young girl looked up and around before she noticed him. Steven was standing against the side of the building when he raised his drink to get her attention. She smiled a friendly smile and walked closer to answer his question. 

“Um, I got into photography maybe two years ago? I mean I’ve always loved taking pictures and I would mess around on my phone most of the time but I got a photography book for my birthday last year. Just amazing shots by so many photographers and I decided I wanted to make art like that too. I saved up money for the next six months and bought myself this camera,” she smiled with satisfaction, as she looked into her hands at her pride and joy. 

“Wow, that’s really awesome. I’m always in awe of people who follow their passions”, Steven took a small step back and nodded. “Dedicating yourself to something out of pure joy, it’s always been something I admired.” As he took a sip of his drink, he realized they hadn’t been introduced.  “Sorry, what is your name?”, he asked as he leaned slightly forward. 

“I’m Vanessa. You?”, she asked.

“I’m steven. Nice to meet you, Vanessa.”

“So from what you said, about people and their passions, are you not passionate about what you do?” Vanessa posed the question before getting into formation to take his picture. Steven noticed this as he started to answer but then he stopped.

“Oh, sorry, is this okay?”, she asked, lowering her camera.

“Yeah that’s fine, I just get awkward in front of those things sometimes, wasn’t sure what I should be doing.” he let out a nervous chuckle as he struggled to find a pose.

“No, no worries. Just keep talking, I’ll do all the work.” She picked up her camera and began again.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m particularly passionate about what I do”, Steven continued. “I find joy in seeing my kids happy and seeing my wife happy. I find joy in knowing that going to work provides a stable home for them, but I wouldn’t say I’m passionate about it.” Between the hum of the surrounding streets, people passing, and the clicking of the shutter, Steven stood there and pondered briefly over his response. He couldn’t remember the last time a person had asked him if he was passionate about what he does, or if anyone had asked him at all. Vanessa snapped a few more shots before posing another question. 

“So would you say there’s anything you are passionate about?”, she asked as her shutter clicked. Steven stood there for a moment thinking before he spoke. 

“Um..”, he started. “Well, I used to be. Yeah, I used to really enjoy playing the guitar. That was a lifetime ago it seems like, but if I had to pick I’d say that.” A soft smile came across his face as he reminisced quietly over a fond memory. Vanessa captured these moments, before following up. 

“What made you give it up?” click, click, click. 

“Well, you know. Life, pretty much. It was a fun time though. My friends and I even had a little band for a while. Nothing serious just a few bar gigs here and there but next thing you know someone is getting married, someone is having a baby and you learn pretty quickly, that a hobby isn’t going to pay the bills. I met my wife at my bandmate's wedding actually”, he laughed before continuing. “Yeah, I came as a groomsman and left with the love of my life. After that, I just wanted to give her everything she deserved, and some things ended up getting left behind.” An air of melancholy seemed to surround him as he finished his thought and Vanessa decided this might be a good time to put the camera down.

“Listen”, she began, “I know you didn’t ask for my advice, but I’m going to give it. It’s fine if something you’re passionate about isn’t making you money”, Vanessa stated. “Sometimes we need things to help us relax and unwind or just to bring us some form of happiness every now and then. I don’t know what it is you do, but it doesn’t seem to make you happy”. As she made this observation, the line Steven was standing on started moving, making him second to place his order. 

“Do you still have the guitar?”, she asked him.

“Yeah, I do actually”, he recalled. “It’s up in my attic.”

Vanessa leaned her head back in shock and let out a chuckle. “Okay”, she said happily. “So when you get home, take it out of the attic and play it. Just strum it for a little bit and see how you feel. It’s not going to kill you and it might bring back that same feeling you had when you used to play with your band. Alright?” Vanessa started putting her camera away in her bag as the teller called out.

“Next!”, she shouted from behind the stand.

“That’s your homework assignment, Steven. Find you joy.” She waved and took off up the block as her bus approached the corner. 

On his commute home, Steven couldn’t stop thinking about his interaction with Vanessa. When he got home, he greeted his kids and his wife before heading straight up to the attic and pulling out the guitar he had left there ten years ago, when they moved in. Of course, it was out of tune and needed a little dusting, but once he gave her a little bit of love, she was back. Steven couldn’t stop smiling as he thought about his band and all the good times they’d shared together. After a while, his wife followed the sound of the music and made her way upstairs.

“Heeeey, look at you! You pulled out your guitar!”, she had a wide grin on her face as she watched her husband play. After he strummed a few more notes, he put the guitar down and told her about his day and his encounter with Vanessa. 

“Wow. I don’t remember the last time I saw you this excited. That’s awesome. Did she say when you would get the pictures?”, she inquired.

“Oh. No, I didn’t get her information. Everything happened so fast and then she was gone”, he said.

“Aww, I’m sorry,” she said sounding disappointed for her husband. “That would’ve been a great memory to have. Well, you keep playing, I’m going to start dinner. I’ll let you know when it’s all finished.” She gave him a kiss, before he started up again, prompting her to dance her way down the stairs. 

“You sound great babe!” she shouted once she got to the bottom. Steven let out a laugh and kept playing.

The next day, he took his three daughters out to spend some time together in the city. They packed their favorite foods, some games, and toys and hung out in Central Park. It was a beautiful afternoon so lots of families were out, but that didn’t take away from the special moments Steven shared with his girls. 

“Alright”, he said as they found a spot. “Is this good for everybody? We can take the blanket out here?” His girls agreed and they started to unpack. As the two youngest, Denise and Ashley started to unpack, Erica the oldest, walked over to a light post and took a picture.

“What are you doing, Erica?”, Ashley called out. “Yeah, you’re supposed to be helping. Why are you taking pictures of a pole?” Denise reiterated.

“I’m not taking a picture”, she responded flatly, as she looked at her phone. “There’s a QR code on it. I wanted to see what it was for.”

“Oh,” they responded in unison, before continuing to set up their picnic. Steven sat there confused, having no idea what just happened. 

“A what? A QR code? What is that”, he asked.

“People put them up all over the city”, Erica stated as she looked up to explain. “They’re like stickers but you can scan it with the camera on your phone and it takes you to a website. Sometimes people post really cool things, other times it’s just junk but I was just curious to see what this one was.” As Erica looked back down, her eyes widened and disbelief. 

“Wait”, she laughed. “Wait dad, you’re on this website. Why are you on this website?” Her dad and sisters gathered around to see what she was talking about.

“Van the photographer? Who is that?”, she asked.

“Oh wow!” Steven was stunned. “That’s amazing, That’s the photographer I met the other day. Yeah, she and I were talking while I was waiting in line for some food and she just started taking my pictures. She ran off to catch her bus before I could get her information. You found this from that sticker over there?” He was in disbelief.

“Yeah, I told you. Sometimes people post really cool things. These pictures came out really good, dad! I had no idea you were a model.” She and her sisters laughed as her dad scrolled through the photos on the website. 

“Is there any way to get in touch with her? I’d love to get some copies of these”, he said. 

“Um, yeah, her Instagram is right here. I’ll send her a message.”

Shortly after Erica reached out on her dad’s behalf, she got a response. 

“Dad, she wrote me back. She said ‘Hey, Erica, thanks for reaching out. I’m so glad you were able to find me through my QR code! Your dad was awesome and I’d love to send him the images. Shoot me an email and I’ll get it done ASAP!’ Look at that! She said she’ll send them. I’ll give her your email, is that good?” Erica asked.

“Yeah, that’s perfect. Wow, what a small world. Thank you!” 

The four of them spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the park and getting ice cream, before heading back home. Everyone was tired, but it was a great day. As soon as they got home, Steven got on his computer to check his email and as promised, there was one from Vanessa. As he looked through the pictures, his wife came in and he caught her up on the events of the day.

“These pictures are amazing. You look so handsome, I love it!” she exclaimed. They scrolled through the photos before getting to her message at the bottom. 

“Dear Steven, 

I hope you’ve been doing your homework!

                                                                            Much love, V”