They say you never forget the shots you don't take. Yesterday, one of those once-in-a-lifetime street photography shots came my way, but I let it pass without shooting a frame. No regrets, no shot is worth getting shot.
In Iroquois Park there's an overlook with some impressive views of the city. Yesterday I set out to walk there and see what the street photography gods would send my way. Had hardly left my house when I noticed a new Hummer idling on the wrong side of the road down at the other end of the block. Something about it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and when a young white dude (late teens to early twenties) headed for the passenger door of the Hummer I crossed the street to put some space between us.
By the time he got the door of the Hummer open I was essentially even with him, maybe six feet away. As he was climbing in, he spotted a man emerging from an alley nearby and started yelling at him, "bitch boy! bitch boy!" At first I was unsure if it was the mock hostility of friends, but I got my answer when the yells changed to "You better run! I'll kill you! You better run!" He quickly ducked into the Hummer and it is then that I heard the unmistakable sound of a pistol slide being racked.
By this point I'd already stopped walking to keep myself out of any potential line of fire and so was perfectly lined up to get a shot of the dude emerging from the Hummer with a white and stainless semiauto in hand. At this point, ethnic slurs had been added to his shouts of "Run!" and between that and the fact that all this was going down maybe a hundred yards from a public high school in full view of its front doors, I began to suspect I'd get shot for taking a shot.
Then, as suddenly as it had begun it was over. Dude hopped back in the Hummer and closed the door and I resumed my walk in time to catch a glimpse of the man who'd been threatened still running down the alley. It was curious, was completely calm while all of this was going on but once it was all over and I'd made it to the sidewalk along the main road my hands wouldn't stop shaking, didn't stop until after I'd been in the park a while.
Hiked to the top of the hill and found me a bench on which to sit and try to wrap my head around what'd just went down. Was there for no more than a minute or two when three cops come riding up on ATVs. Snapped a couple shots and then in a couple minutes they're riding back up to talk to me. Not about the almost-murder, just to see if I'd gotten any good photos of them. Hooray public safety!
Finally made it to the overlook and discovered it'd recently had its own run-in with a pistol. There's as many surveillance devices on the pole in the background as there are bullet holes in the sign, which seems to be a sign of its own.
Walking back home, it was a bit surreal seeing life go on normally, as if nobody was waving a gun around just a little bit before. Live to shoot another day I suppose.
Keep your head on a swivel y'all, and stay safe out there, the world is a wild place.