CONTEMPORARY EXPLORER

There is so much sameness in life. One mall looks like another, suburbs sprout everywhere and are ditto to each other. People, though, remain unique, individual to the one, each carrying their own world within. One way to celebrate people is with a camera in hand. Not any camera, but one with a QUIET SHUTTER , giving you that extra fraction of a second to capture people as they are before they notice you. The tapestry of life unfolds in front of you, giving art to the everyday of life. Over time, the challenges of photographing people have increased. Privacy, personal space and even fear of others have contributed to this. If you approach people carefully you can get marvelous poised shots of them, some dramatic. Often though, catching them going about their normal lives reveals more. Great cameras with quiet shutters include the Ricoh GR or Fuji Film X100T series. Both small in size and easy to get great shots with. So too is your smart phone if you set the mode silent....

Rain fell gently on the pavement as commuters sped sped by, not really noticing the faded buildings on this doorstep to the city. An old red clad five story bore the sign Royal Hotel, its windows small and uninviting, nothing more than a flop house. Just to the east the bright lights of china town and to the west the tall buildings of Vancouver’s profit. The blocks around the Royal, left as is, uncared for and unloved by anyone. Paul a wheel chair bound man managed the Royal. Rent was by the week or month. Most tenants were forgotten souls, minimum wage workers, disability pensioners, drinkers and newly landed immigrants. They immigrants would be quickly gone, the rest stayed. Paul kept a lid on everything, collected the rent and handled any trouble. He had a small room behind the front desk where he lived. The owner far away in Toronto.  Paul always dressed neatly, wearing a sweater or gray sports coat. He possessed a bearing, in part because of his large s...