I meet interesting people when waiting for the magic light of dusk. I always have my camera on a tripod, sometimes I'm up on a ladder too. It takes a while to get the images - hours of pretty much being in the same place. This time, it was for a photograph of Mesta Wood's USA Headquarters on the streets of Port Huron, Michigan.
One man in particular rode over on his bicycle from the ice cream shop across the street. After the usual questions about the digital camera and so on, he began to tell his story of how he had been a devotee of landscape photography and detailed his choices of black and white film and developers and filters - the whole nine yards sort of thing.
He appreciated the opportunity to talk about his hobby and went on to say how he now had other interests and missed the "old days" of film and darkroom and black-and-white prints. I enjoyed the interlude and am always amazed at how extraordinary the most ordinary situations can become if one is open to the opportunity.
The image was made after sunset, just before the main street lights came on. The clouds are real; the sky was darkened with a polarizer.
