Stephanie - Missed Opportunity

(Sorry this is late. I hope it is still acceptable)

It’s ironic that we would be discussing missed opportunities in photography because I feel like every year, every month, and sometimes every week I see this amazing moment and because I don’t have my camera I can’t capture it. It makes me want to just carry my camera around everywhere. After that idea crosses my mind I say, “Nah.”

Not too long ago my missed opportunity happened on my way to school one morning. It was a little after sunrise and I was driving on some road off of Post Avenue. It was in Westbury, NY and it wasn’t exactly the nicest area. I was at a stop light down the road from the United Artists Westbury Stadium Movie Theatre for what seemed to be a long time. As I was waiting I looked around and as I looked to my left there stood about thirty men in their work clothes. They looked dirty and ready for landscaping. They lined up, all of them, some in groups, some standing alone, either talking, smoking or just waiting. The sun peaked out the side of the building that the men were all standing against.

It was an awesome moment. I was so bummed I didn’t have my camera. If I was willing to be yelled at and chased off I would have just pulled over, jumped out and ran up to them to take their picture with my phone, but they didn’t look too inviting. I would have loved to do a project based off of blue collared jobs. People assume that just because people work in landscaping or even work as a garbage man that they are miserable and have a low end job and that’s just not true. My grandfather was a garbage man and he loved his job. He was a morning person and if his job meant his family could live in a nice house in a great neighborhood while his children go to a good school then he believed he was living the American dream. I don’t know exactly what those men in Westbury’s stories are, but I’m sure they have one.