Photos

Old Town Alexandria is a haven for the aesthetically-minded. If you start at the Freemason Temple and head east on King Street, you will pass a series of rustic storefronts, antique shops, and end up at the The Torpedo Factory by the waterfront, where you can watch sculptors and painters work at their craft as you browse their wares.

I visited Old Town today to take some pictures. The results are here. I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a photographer because I don't deal with frustration and guilt very well. This one antique shop had an array of glass compasses scattered on a wooden chessboard. Stumbling upon it was like searching for kiwi and strawberries and finding a fruit salad. The owner already arranged the pieces and lit them well. I ask the manger if I could take a few photos, and he said no. Same with most of the places in the Torpedo Factory. I need to find out if my camera has a tie-lens attachment.

The guilt came from trying to take photos of people. I feel like I'm invading people's privacy when I take photos of them. Before taking photos of a musician playing a cello, I gave him a dollar and still felt I was doing something wrong, like exploiting him for my own gain. After a few photos, he glanced at me, neither happy or angry, but it made me feel self-conscious enough to stop.

I wish I could freeze time, snap my photos and run away with the subject never knowing. Portrait photography is a world I want to explore, but I'm too uncomfortable to dive in.