This photo remains one of my absolute favorite portraits.
In July of 2021, I was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, visiting the Greenwood Business District. This is where the Tulsa Massacre happened in 1921.
We had just walked out of a community museum, lovingly and painstakingly put together by the residents of the remaining Greenwood District to document the history of Black Americans in Tulsa.
This man struck up a conversation with us. He and his friend (whose portrait is also below) were sitting outside one of the stores, chatting with each other and with passersby, as if they did this every day.
I do not know his name, but I feel like my camera caught a hint of his spirit. His portrait is alive.
Sometimes, when I'm out taking photos of the scenery, I catch people instead. I like to call these snap portraits, offering just a glimpse into their lives.
What was this girl thinking about, as she waited for her photo to be taken?
Why was this woman walking alone beneath the cherry blossoms?
And it makes me wonder, too, whether I'm in anyone else's photos from that day. Is there another photographer, somewhere, wondering who I am?
