33. Leaving
Street Photography
Cities are no longer destinations, they have become points of departure. They provide gateways to other, more desirable places. Visitors don’t come to a city to be present and alive anymore, they come to perform their dramatic escape. Special jumping-off points with impressive backdrops make the act of leaving a memorable event.
Documenting their departure is not difficult, as these emigrants are oblivious to their current surroundings. They are focused on making their best exit, as though this could be their last. If it goes well, they will emerge triumphantly into a clean, bright space filled with smiley faces, where their arrival will be celebrated with balloons, confetti, and shouts of positive affirmation.
Congratulations!!!
You look gorgeous!!!
You deserve this!!!
Mass disappearances are not uncommon. Entire families have been known to leave at the same time. It takes some preparation and coordination, but the family that departs together gets hearts together.
Whether they are planning on leaving Toronto, leaving London, or leaving Las Vegas, we wish our dearly departed a bon voyage. We hope they will send us a postcard from the other side. The rest of us will continue to go about our daily lives in the city that grounds us, surrounds us, and confounds us, with all its messy, complicated, and unpredictable beauty.
What’s next?
I am still going through the photos I took during my recent visit to Canada. I am particularly interested in having a close look at more of the many horizontal panoramas that my much-smarter-than-i-Phone captured (I discussed a few of these in the previous two posts). I hope we are both pleasantly surprised.
What do you think?
You are welcome to leave a comment below.
Excellent commentary. Some of us choose to stay in the city too long.... And then it feels like watching that subway train that constantly passes us by.