{Long Distance Call | 366 Project}

After a session today I drove around downtown to find my photo of the day for 366. I saw this old abandoned phone booth, dirty windows - what were left of them. Someone had smeared the shape of a heart in the dirt on the window. That caught my attention first. But as I looked closer the glass on the ground became like all of these glittery sparkling jewels.


The storyteller that I am found myself wondering about the calls made here over the years in that booth. It had stood there, enduring the lonely nights, the howling winds and rain. Not many takers anymore. Always a story...


Love an old phone booth. The romance and desperateness associated with them in the movies. Are they not magical?


As I stood there quickly snapping into the sun, an elderly gentleman came up and approached me. Said something about, "that's some nice equipment" - usually I am pretty guarded when alone downtown - I do carry protection on me, but he seemed pretty harmless, so we talked a bit. He asked me what I was trying to specifically capture about the booth. First tip he knew something about the art. He then told me he had a Pentax camera, and then I kid you not, literally pulled a stack of 4x6 prints out of his pockets. I shot with a Pentax in college. Sold it years later in a garage sale. Could shoot myself now for that. All of this elderly photographer's shots were of downtown South Bend, and there were some pretty good ones too! Crazy, he lives in a Senior Living place downtown, but you could tell he enjoyed his freedom in an afternoon walk, or atleast, the pictures showed it to be so. Nice gentleman. Funny who you run into sometimes. 


I intended to photograph an old abandoned phone - which he and I agreed is pretty much already obsolete, and I met a kind old gentleman who was a photographer and still shoots for hobby. 


It's a small world. One where obsolete, forlorn and abandoned things are a mutual passion to capture amongst artists. Makes me happy when someone understands why I'm photographing that beat up old booth. 


It may never be photographed again. 
And maybe, just maybe, I was the first to give it some attention.


I hope someday when I am older I am wandering the streets and still shooting just for the heck of it. Something special about that in the fact that when something is truly a passion in your heart, it never dies. Even after the profession is gone, you still relentlessly pursue that calling. You can't not.

Where to go I had no idea about it
Most of the people do, there're only doing just fine 
I don't wanna stay in place no more, see Ain't doing well well well, 
I am only doing just fine

Long time no see, long time no say
Got little to tell, I don't say much but I might 


Long Distance Call - Phoenix