In Transit by Chipka
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Description
“Pauvre bambino,” she said, taking his face in both of her palms; he flinched at the ashen, dry rasp of her palms, the spider-silk tickle of her fingernails as they brushed infant stubble, like sandpaper, he thought, like the grit of cigarette ashes, dampened, dried, and hardened like mud in the sun. “Do you intend to simply wander in the night? Is it such a pleasure for you to watch this whore of a city turning in her bed as she sleeps…but being a whore, she never really sleeps, does she? She only pretends, so that men can look at her with lust in their hearts. This crushes them, but a whore crushes men.” There was sadness in her voice. Her touch was warm and left a chill as her hands dropped from their matronly caress; the tips of her fingers (the crests of her manicured nails) raked through the powder-fine growth of stubble. He was young: too young for a beard, he thought. He disliked beards, and hated—momentarily—the clucking, old woman for reminding him of his need to shave.
He nodded. “I’ve got a place to go, and I’m okay,” he said, “really, okay with whores. They don’t bother me. I know a few of ‘em. Hustlers too. It’s okay.” And he meant it, thinking of Tricky and Lissa, Tiff and Crow. There was a time when Tricky had a thing for him; life had gone ugly then. Everything went sideways, but life had a way of straightening itself out, and so things were on the level between him and Tricky and Tricky didn’t really care that he’d started something nice, something soft and cuddly, with Crow. Everybody liked Crow, even Tiff.
He nodded again. “I’ve got a place.”
And in less than an hour, he found himself in the promise of drizzle beneath the monorail tracks with great, holographic owls to scare the pigeons away. The Old Woman’s voice echoed through his thoughts. She’d called the city a whore and implied that men liked to watch her. She’d called him something in French…a poor child, or something like that. He liked the Old Woman, but he scarcely understood her. She paid him to clean and carry heavy things from apartment to alley, and she was always fair. But he didn’t understand her, and now—in the sound of traffic at night—he wondered what she meant by the way she’d cradled his face and said those words in French. He wondered if he should go back and do some more cleaning when she called him.
He wondered if he should pick something up: a little mood in chilled, green bottles with labels emblazoned in some post-Communist language. Beer. The good stuff. Crow would like that, and as a distant bus beamed its revised ETA to his iPhone, he decided to make Crow happy (and maybe a little horny) with beer from the corner.
***
I don’t doubt that there’s more to this story. The central character hasn’t revealed his name, yet, and I’m quite hesitant to let a character go unnamed for a while.
As for the picture, it’s one I took barely two hours ago. I’ve acquired a new memory card for my camera and I was anxious to put something on it. An on-the-fly urban shot presented itself and I made the capture. I’d decided to try nocturnal black-and-white, and sepia shots and this is the first in that particular series that turned out decently. I was (and still am) drawn to the blur of someone passing (at random) before my camera as the shutter clicked.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re having a great weekend.
Comments (24)
Faemike55
this is an amazing and beautiful image and story, Chip. they go so well together Thank you very much for sharing it
brewgirlca
I just knew this must be you when I saw the thumb. And yup it was. Many people would shudder at what happened to you but you make it all feel natural - which it is. So this was shot in sepia directly? No fixing?
CoreyBlack
I was shooting the same general area, but in color. I like your black and white better: it gives the whole scene more of a coldly stark urban night feel.Love the action, the blur of the foreground character, and crisp clarity of the background boy popping out from around the pole. This is a fantastic shot!
kgb224
Stunning capture my friend. God Bless.
whaleman
Blur is a very interesting phenomenon, always waiting and seldom exploited to its full potential. This shows the value of a blur at the right time and place!
durleybeachbum
Such mood! I love it. And I just adored the comment you made on Bill's upload today about cleaning ladies!
auntietk
Love the motion blur, especially while that one young man holds perfectly still. He could be looking at the moving person, or looking at you, but there appears to be an acknowledgement on his part of the scene. Excellent shot, and I love your story.
Feliciti
really great the motion blur ...with this lives the scene,like the sepia style too !!
angora
wonderful!!! :-D
minos_6
What a compelling image! The blurred foreground character really places this as a moment in time, and the man in the background looking on contrasts pervrectly with the women who have already passed by and are oblivious to the flurry of activity behind them. I'm also reminded of a piece I'm working on at the moment, where (Photoshoped / Photoshopped???) motion blur is central. Might have to shelve it for a while now ;) The mood of your words fit nicely with this capture too, or more likely the other way round I would guess, since you say the capture was only 2 hours old when posted. Love your work, and planning on catching up properly soon.
thecytron
Xcellent motion capture!
MrsRatbag
Ghostly and wonderful; and the sepia tone is perfect. Looking forward to story expansion on this one...
helanker
WOW! A ghost was passing right when you took that shot :-) I wonder what she meant. maybe we will know later :-)
jac204
Nice story to go along with the mood of the picture.
flavia49
marvelous story!! and great picture
RodS
There's something strangely ethereal about this photo. Maybe it's the ghost-like blur of the passing pedestrian, or the young man's face looking directly at us from beyond the blur. Maybe it's the monochrome... What ever it is, I like it.
sandra46
VERY BEAUTIFUL COMPOSITION
Orinoor
I really love the photo, it somehow describes how I feel, somewhere in between, nowhere in particular, uncertain shapes.
bmac62
Always enjoy your ninja snaps of people doing what people do in Chicago after hours... And you story fits perfectly...as they always do:) Fascinating effects...was the blur male or female? Anyway... this is one cool shot. Well done Chip.
Crabbycabby
Stunning image.
wysiwig
It has been said that the perpose of art is to provoke a response. Boy howdy has this image succeeded! It reminds me of pictures I was taking forty years ago. I used to wander the streets at night with my little Canon rangfinder camera. Then I got comfortable and old and overweight. Since I've retired I've been working on getting some of that motivation back. This is the type of image that really helps. I don't know if you realize how good this is. The story fits perfectly and you've succeeded there as well. Left us wanting more. When the Whole Earth Catalogue published its last issue they ended it with a line Steve Jobs borrowed - "Stay hungry, stay foolish". It helps.
pauldeleu
B & W, the eyes, dark ... Fantastic!
missblue
Wonderful capture!
tibet2004uk
A most interesting capture indeed! Love the feeling of movement combined with the stillness of the guy in the background. Very well seen.