Strangers

Top: May 2006 // Mamiya 6, Mamiya 75/3.5
Above: June 2024 // Nikon D700, Nikkor 85 f/1.8

I enjoy meeting strangers. The pleasant exchanges I've had through the years are an antidote to our polarized, inward age, something I need to remind myself of on days when I struggle to get out. Yesterday, I traveled to the Kansas Flint Hills to photograph two teammates at Unbound 2024, one of the biggest gravel races on the calendar. Downtown Emporia once was a sleepy burg; now it's a sea of people the first week of June each year, thanks to the race. I met a barista at a pop-up from Fruita, Colorado, and compared Kansas and Kentucky humidity with a woman from Louisville. A former colleague I hadn't seen in many years somehow picked me out of the crowd and asked for a quick portrait of her family after her husband finished his first gravel race. 

I spent several hours in a small town north of Emporia waiting for my teammates to roll through. The check point was in a city park, which I've learned is usually easy to find by navigating to a town's primary landmark—the water tower. I admired beautiful Craftsman homes on wide lots that would be worth more than a half-million dollars in other places. As I wandered, I was drawn to an elderly man in a wheelchair holding an American flag. He shook a cow bell as riders passed and cheered with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. I asked if this was his town. He said yes. I said it was a wonderful place. He agreed and said he lived in a 150-year-old house a few blocks away. He thought the flag would be the right touch, especially because he and his mom were born on Flag Day. I introduced myself, then met his daughter and grandkids, all kind people. A sincere handshake and a hello still carries a lot of weight—and usually disarms any apprehension about a camera hanging around my neck. 

Funny, I met another photographer in 2006 on a walk, a young man named Cody who was taking pictures for a class assignment. I think we each stood for a portrait that warm afternoon. I don't know how his turned out, but I got a great shot of him. The EXPLOSIVES T-shirt and razor blade necklace were a sharp contrast to his easy nature and polite manner. We parted with a thank you handshake and moved off into the world better for the experience, just like I did after my meeting with Jeff yesterday in a tiny town on the prairie.