Union Station
For those interested in loitering without being suspect, there's no better place to be than a train or bus station. Being transient by nature, they are great places to watch people pass who are largely preoccupied with getting to their next destination. Union Station, in Washington DC, is characteristic of such a place.
When choosing to make photographs at Union Station, I used architecture and dramatic lighting to photograph the random person, who, through the action of their presence, convey a sense of anonymity and introspection within a singular, fleeting moment in time.
I chose always to photograph in the winter, and specifically in the late afternoon, when the sun is low in the southern sky and streams through the granite archways so directional as to suggest some ancient celestial event. In some places, the angle of the sunlight creates a dramatic interplay between shadow and highlight against the exterior stone. In other places, it creates an indirect blanket of light that's soft and beautiful.
Mindful of my own loitering presence, which is in contrast to the movement about me, makes me feel uncomfortably conspicuous. I search for the right location, and wait for the light to be perfect. With the elements of my composition arranged, eventually someone steps into my frame. Sometimes, ever so briefly, our eyes will meet, and then, with deliberate haste, they hurry on their way to someplace else.
