Six Peeps

June 13, 2007

Personal Project: Big City Messengers

Nothing against weddings, I wouldn’t be shooting weddings each weekend if I didn’t love the photographic opportunities they provide. But I have been dying to take on my own personal project. I have always been intrigued by the Big City Bicycle Couriers. They are an interesting bunch and a fascinating American Subculture. I promised myself I would wait until my photoGRANDEUR project was done before diving into this. Well, last week my book got sent out to the press and now it’s time to start hangin’ with the Messengers.

Many thanks to Rich, a messenger here in denver and founder of ELEVENTOOTH has been helping me coordinate my contact with the messengers here in Denver. He also invited me to a Denver Messenger Association meeting that I sat in on. You see messengers all over the place, mostly in big cities, but they often get dismissed as just a bunch of rough looking guys on bikes. My first day hanging out with them taught me that nothing could be further from the truth. These guys are passionate about what they do and are proud of their profession. They don’t get paid a whole lot, but they do it because they love it.

Anyway, I will be concentrating on messengers in Denver, but I have plans to visit Chicago, Philly (again), Manhattan, Boston, and maybe Dallas? This will be a long 4-6 month project. I’m hoping to get this photo-documentary published. It’s always been my dream to have my own photo-documentary on the book-shelves or on the magazine rack.

My first day on the project was cold and rainy, so I mostly got shots of like three of these guys/gals hanging out at their favorite Peaberry Coffee shop, dodging the rain.

One major item on my photo list is “the female messenger”. I was introduced to this girl, Kristine’ (pronounced Kristinay). It happened to be her last day on the job.

This guy goes by J-Bone. I plan on spending an entire shoot following him around. He’s in his 50’s and apparently he’s been messengering for like 25 years, or something crazy like that. He founded the association that I sat in on and even is responsible for it’s Non-Profit status. All the messengers in Denver know and respect J-Bone.

Off to brave the chill rain for a delivery…

Waiting to be dispatched.

It was time for me to ride back to the studio. It was cold and rainy, so I was in a hurry to get into my cozy loft just outside of Downtown Denver. Suddenly I swirved to avoid this guy. I got off my bike and just looked at him laying on the ground in the middle of the rain. I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t at least find a dry place to lay down. The vent he’s laying on was pushing up warm air.

I’m not much of a political activist. I don’t take sides to the left or right wing. I guess I am more interested in moderation, and hearing both sides of the story. I believe in exceptions to every rule. These two photos are not my attempt to make any sort of statement. If anything, I hope that they will encourage you to count your blessings. I wonder about this guy. What was his life like growing up? Was he on track for a normal life at some point, only for things to take a turn for the worse? Or was he born into this world on the streets? Undoubtably, he has faced some serious hardships, and there you have it, he’s laying on the ground in the rain. I still don’t know what to make of this, but I gave the guy a $10. I NEVER give money to homeless. This is officially my second time of giving money to someone like this. The last time was at a laundromat when I saw this homeless guy trying to do laundry. He didn’t know I was watching him as he realized he didn’t have enough money to wash his clothes. I hooked him up with some quarters. I get annoyed when they pester the public… but in this case yesterday, he was just laying there. I dropped a $10 to the ground next to him. He looked at it for a while. I think he was expecting a $1… not a $10. He said “Thank You” over and over as I rode off. Sure, he might go off and buy booze with it. Drinks on me today.

June 13, 2007 |