WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? Photo Project {Meet Trike}

This project is harder than I thought it would be!

I brought my camera with me to get my coffee this morning in the hopes of spotting a unique individual to photograph and meet. I stood in line scanning the café filled with people on laptops and the occasional couple in conversation. A couple of people stood out to me. They guy with tattooed arms and the greaser hair deeply engrossed into the glow of his online face-space community. Another young bearded man on his laptop who I sized up as a gamer/tech-nerd. And I couldn’t bring myself to interrupting either of these individuals in such a public atmosphere.

That’s when I saw through the glass windows a man warming himself in the morning sun. He looked comfortably sunk into his electric wheelchair as if he was reporting for a days work of guarding the staircase that led to the downtown movie theater. Curiosity gripped me. I had seen this man around before. Then I wondered how often had I seen him and just walked past. With that thought fear welled up within me and I was tempted to bail on my morning attempt at meeting my neighbor. It seemed harder to approach him because he was in a wheelchair. Why was that?! What inhibitions in me wrestled against my desire to step out of my comfort zone.

With a big gulp of my hazelnut mocha I walked out of Starbucks and straight towards him with a sideways smile and my photography proposal. He was happy to have me photograph him because he would like to send pictures to his son. He said he hangs out downtown everyday. Meet Trike; my neighbor and new friend.