Street photography is still a struggle for me. It’s easier to find exciting happenings to photograph, and I was overwhelmed with choice. New York City is almost the opposite of downtown Princeton where street photography is nearly impossible. In Princeton, people assume you are photographing a building or storefront. They actively try to step out of the frame. In New York City, very few people care that a camera is pointed in their direction.
I was attracted to the bold signage painted on the building. Still, I remembered we were here for street photography, not architecture. I noticed these two men talking and sharing a cigarette on the entrance stairs to Fun City Tatoo. I thought of the trust needed for sharing a cigarette with someone. Everything that was avoided during the global pandemic. Touching hands. Standing too close. Sharing something your mouths touched.
That moment, a split second as the cigarette hovers between them, held in the fingers, has so much weight.
With a few clicks of the shutter, I captured the moment the man in shorts held his arm out. Decisive moment?
