From the day
Perspective: The Street Photographer · Tactile
The damp wool of my heavy overcoat etches a scratchy trail against my neck as I crouch to frame this shot, watching a child clutch a new mohair Teddy Bear with such fierce grip I can almost feel the sawdust stuffing shifting beneath its plush skin. It is a bully day for a stroll, provided you can dodge the oily splatter from Mr. Hoyt’s stalled motorcar or the condensation dripping from a shop's new-fangled air conditioner onto the muddy cobblestones. Just past the telegraph office, a man adjusts a silver cup against his ear—those cumbersome hearing aids are becoming a common sight—while a group of ruffians jeers about that new-fangled lie detector machine as if it were some carnival trick. I click the shutter, capturing the glint of sunlight off a silk top hat before the gritty smoke of the city swallows the light again.