I decided I wanted to wash my hoody so I had to find a laundromat. I kept my camera on me and left everything else in the room.
I find one in the hood, on the outskirts and fringes of the city, and I head that direction. The whole place is full of incredible, soft light and dark shadows. I see the photographs immediately. They’re difficult. Complicated. I’m the minority here and I’ll have to earn trust immediately, every single time.
I photograph people inside and out. I don’t get a single rejection. Marques with his pistol on his waist. Chef. Catering. Worked in the restaurant business with the grime and learned by observation. Saw everyone else making money and he wanted to also.
Nikez and Kaylee, maybe the hardest pictures possible, of two girls - One being very young (Kaylee - She was 8 or 9 years old). That trust is impossible to get. Photographing a child, in a strange place, in a messy part of a big city. When everyone is on alert and it’s better to keep your head down and ignore the world around you. I asked for permission from both of them, especially Kaylee. They both smiled and said yes.
NHS Baggs, a hip hop artist, who looked tough and minded his own business. I asked for his photograph, he slowly nodded, embarrassed, but he kept letting me put him in new places to photograph him. I moved trash cans to the side and made noise in this quiet laundromat.
Marvin outside with the dogs, hustling. Told me a heart felt story about how much he loved his mom, in the shadows of the building outside.
Then, the finale. Rivette. The girl in all yellow. French braids. Yankees hat. Stunningly beautiful. Outnumbered by tough guys, 10 to 1, she earned her spot on the block with everyone there. They didn’t mess with her. No one hit on her. They respected her as equal and we might never know how she earned that from them.
I walked up to her, comfortable and calm. I looked her in the eyes, she sized me up with every word that came out. Skeptical eyes but they were really listening. For just a second, her mind was open to it.
But then she shut down and said ‘Youre not getting that from me.’ I told her she would be the only girl outside so far and I had to get it. No choice. I had to get the picture - I already saw it. As the men crowded around to hear what I was talking to her about, she became protective and closed up quickly. I lost the intimacy I needed for her to trust me. She couldn’t lower her walls, not where everyone was listening at least. These streets were tough and vulnerability could get you tested and she wasn’t going to give that a chance. When she locked up, Marvin (with the dogs) saw what was happening and came up to protect me and ease the situation. Now, she felt she had to be tough with me, even though I told her she didn’t need to be. Marvin pulled her aside and said ‘All he’s saying is that you’re fly.’
I never got the photograph. But I thanked her for the time and wished them all well.
All of this was what happens when you give me 30-minutes in the hood.
Plus, one moment I had to get in a Wal-Mart on the way home.
