Forever Young

Washington, DC | 11th Street NW | July 2014

Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Alphaville, and probably many others sang about it. Movies have been made about it.

Staying forever young: a wish that many people need to have.

If we must believe the music and film industries. 

And cosmetics and clothing firms are playing well too.

Helping people to stay forever young.

Or at least: helping people feel they can stay forever young.

Or at least: making people feel they need to stay forever young.

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Paying Attention

Washington, DC | Lincoln Memorial | August 2014

One of the joys of street photography, actually the reason I think most street photographers do what they do, is observing people.

People on their own, in small groups, or, as in this image, in large groups of individuals who are not in any way related to each other than for the fact that they are coincidentally in the same place at the same time.

When visiting the Lincoln Memorial in 2014 (obviously very much during pre-pandemic times) I noticed that most visitors are not really paying attention to the statue of the great man. Several were walking around in circles like lost in the vast space of the Memorial building, some were talking in groups, and quite a few were busy taking selfies with their omnipresent phones.

Except…

Except for this one woman, who stood still in the middle of the moving, chattering and self-focused crowd.

She was looking at the image of President Lincoln. Paying attention. As if to say: “What can you tell me. What can you teach me.”

And isn’t that what we all should do more often? Paying attention. Putting the phone away. Stop talking. Stop being focused on ourselves. And just pay attention.