On Valentine’s Day, I received feedback about my
last posting on January 25th where I was using a rocking chair covered
in snow on our balcony to discuss some of the comforts even harsh times can
bring to us (https://vahezen.blogspot.com/2021/01/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has.html).
The feedback started with “hm, street photographer is flirting with rocking chair with veil of
snow…”
The point is very well taken and it reflects the
reality we all face around the globe, namely that people are not in the streets
as much, and surely there are no mass events which provide a street photographer
with the opportunity to observe and capture human behavior.
Yes, I do miss carrying a couple of old mechanical
cameras with me and going out looking for a human story. I have done that
around the world for half a century but in the past year I rarely take any
camera with me since I know the streets will be empty.
While it chagrins me as a photographer, the past year has be
delightful for my dog as he comes with me at every outing and has a great time meeting
dogs who, just like mine, seem to be dragging their human counterparts behind
them, on a leash!
But when I am driving I have my 1960s leather camera carry
bag with me where a 1972 Soviet Salyut-S medium format camera and a 1953 Canon
L3 35mm rangefinder camera are at the ready in case the stars come together
for a frame or two.
So, after reading the comment on February 14th,
I pulled out a few photos that are taken in the streets but not always of
people. Indeed, they are photojournalistic and represent the past year. Specifically
they demonstrate that when people vacate the city streets, wild animals come
down and roam these streets day and night. Here are examples:
Peccaries
at sunset: Around here they are called “wild pigs” but they
are not boar. Originally from Latin Americas, peccaries indeed look and get as large
as wild pigs. Most importantly they travel in groups and families, and the
males can be very aggressive in protecting the group. They have long, spear like
canine teeth hence are called javelin/javelina
in Latin Americas.
The photo on the top of this page is of javelina
crossing our neighborhood street after sunset.
Bobcat
kittens next to our house: Native of North America, the
bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a medium size predator that lives in warmer climates. It
is not dangerous to humans but to all other animals of its size or smaller. It
is also a very reserved, solitary and nocturnal hunter, but in the past year we
have seen a number of predator mammals roam our empty streets. Here are bobcat
kittens, delightful as any cat can be. But in a few months they will be looking
for small dogs for dinner!
In the SouthWest
and NorthWest U.S, mountain lions pose a real danger to hikers and
mountain bikers. Here is a sign from Arizona making that point:
Coyote:
Of course these are the representatives of the SouthWest desert fauna. They are
tricksters, smart, survive practically any environmental change and are
accustomed to humans. But they are also very destructive to agricultural stock,
dogs and cats, but rarely to humans. One can see coyotes everyday in cities and
open desert spaces, but in the past year they grew totally unafraid of humans.
On Christmas day 2020, this one came to take a nap
next to our car in the driveway….
But till then, here is a perfect image of how few are benefiting
from empty streets early in the morning!
And the cropped section shows the delightful resemblance between her body posture and that of the "pedestrian crossing" sign -- during a pandemic pedestrians can cross all streets, at any time!
February 20, 2021
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2021
