Story time!

Last year, not exactly sure when, I was Uber Driving for extra cash and I got a call from my newest passenger that I was on my way to. It was a younger guy who was informing me that I was actually picking up his parents who live right down the street from me in Hawaiian Gardens. They were my first pick up of the day. They were on their way into Los Angeles to go see a friend perform. Oscar and Diana are both artists themselves.

Oscar is a talented visual artist and a musician and Diana is a singer, writer and street photographer. During the long ride into Los Angeles, we talked about photography, music, and film (she wants to make a documentary about the homeless crisis in Los Angeles). At one point, they both even SANG for me, an old Billie Holiday song (if I remember correctly) from the 50s.I  dropped them off, Diana asked for my Instagram, and she has been following me quietly since then.

At the time, I had QUIT my day job at the restaurant to focus on my Photography, driving Ride Share full time to pay my bills and to give me the freedom to drive all over SoCal and practice and hone my photography skills and work on my art. Since then, I've had to go back to the restaurant part time while looking for another side gig because the Uber App stopped working for me. Uber has told me they do not know how to fix it and do not have a time frame for when it'll be fixed.

Since then I've also started my journey with 35mm film photography and after literally a dozen rolls of film and several hundred dollars, I am confident enough to go out & shoot with INTENTION & know I probably got some great shots. Cut to last week, when I started photographing Liquor stores around SoCal, including ones in my own neighborhood of Hawaiian Gardens. I got the first roll of Kodak Gold 200 developed & low & behold, some absolutely GEMS were created, including this image:
 

I thought nothing of it and posted it to my Instagram and Threads a few days ago and TODAY, after a truly awful and emotional night that has lead to some profound changes in my marriage that has negatively affected the relationship with her family, I get these messages on my instagram:       

I inadvertently PHOTOGRAPHED OSCAR, a man I had bonded with months prior. Diana had seen the image on my instagram and reached out to me. We all three talked on the phone as if we were old friends. Oscar, despite not liking how he looks in the image has given me his blessing to use it however I want. Diana said "I think you should do a photo book of these liquor stores and I think this photo of Oscar could win a competition!"

This image now has a story beyond ANYTHING I could ever imagine when I took it initially. I just saw a lonely old man by himself. And guess what? Oscar has a song called "Lonely Man" and wants to use this image as the cover art.This photograph is now, truly, my favorite photograph. It has a story. It has meaning. It has VALUE. And not just for me, but for OSCAR, too; ANOTHER human being and fellow artist.

For the first time, ever, I feel I actually created something MEANINGFUL.

I don't know if God is real or not, but experiences like this one make it increasingly more difficult to not believe in... I don't know... something...

Thanks for reading, 

jb