It’s an expansive project, a group of skyscrapers being built concurrently in an area that was once occupied by rail yards. It takes a bit of walking to get there. It’s blocks from the nearest subway, and once you reach the site, you’ll need to walk quite a bit more to make your way around the massive new towers.
When I arrive, I saw an opportunity to take a photo at the first building that I came to. Trouble was there to greet me. I wasn’t surprised; aside from the construction and a handful of small restaurants and bars, the area is still fairly deserted. I figured that I might run into some shady characters.
I set up my camera and started to compose the shot, when a guy walked over to me. “Hey, that’s a nice lens!”
He was a big guy, about six-foot three. He was in his forties, but he was athletic. He looked like he could have played tight end or defensive end in college. From his appearance, I gathered that he spent a lot of time on street corners looking for mischief. He definitely didn’t look employable.
I didn’t respond to his greeting. It was bitterly cold, and I as trying to focus on what I was doing while working the camera’s controls with my bare hands. I didn’t have time to chat. But the guy didn’t go away; I sensed him lurking behind me.
“Oh, yeah! That’s a good shot!” he remarked cheerfully, trying to get me to engage in a conversation.
“I hope so,” I said. I snapped a few exposures and picked up my gear. I didn’t like the fact that the guy kept hanging around. I wanted to cross the street to look for more photo opportunities. It would give me a reason to walk away from him.
“Hey! I’ve got some photo gear, if you’re interested,” the guy offered as I started to walk away.
A little voice in my head wondered, “What’s this guy doing with camera gear?” Beware of that voice. It’s the voice of stupidy. It will distract you when you need to be on your guard. It can fool you into questioning your instincts and thinking that a threat is benign.
“Thanks! I’ve got all the gear I need,” I said as I bolted across the street.
The guy followed me to the other side, not immediately, but when the light changed again. But thankfully, he left me alone. I had demonstrated that I wasn’t going to be an easy mark. I wasn’t going to follow him into an alley to check out his “photo gear.” If I had, he really would have had some photo gear - mine!
I had a similar experience recently when I was walking through Hell’s Kitchen one evening with my camera. To be fair, Hell’s Kitchen today is gentrified and fairly safe. It’s not the Hell’s Kitchen of the mid-20th Century, the neighborhood where the street fights of ‘West Side Story’ were set. I would not have walked through that neighborhood at night. Times have changed. The city is safer now.
Anyway, after spending some time on a particularly challenging photograph, I noticed a guy watching me as I packed up my gear up. He was another tall, athletic fellow. He didn’t look overly menacing, but he would have been a handful in a physical confrontation.
I didn’t pay much attention to the guy at first. Once I noticed that he was staring at me, I avoided eye contact. I didn’t want things to escalate. I made my way down a quiet street looking for another photo opportunity. About halfway down the block, I decided that there wasn’t anything that I wanted to shoot there. So, I turned around, and there was the guy standing there watching me from less than ten paces away. He had followed me down the block. I’m not sure when or where he thought that he might have an opportunity to take something from me, but I didn’t give it to him. I walked back to the avenue where there were more people and ventured off in a different direction.
It’s a crazy world out there. Be aware of your surroundings. If someone seems menacing, don’t ignore your suspicions. Don’t let yourself get into a situation where you’ll be left alone with them. If someone offers you something that sounds out of character or too good to be true, walk away. A criminal can make a thousand mistakes. You only have to make one. Never let your guard down.
Copyright © 2019 Daniel R. South
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