Faces & Bodies: Behind the Shades of a People Observer
July 2010
Faces & Bodies
by Noxsoma
I became a photographer because I like faces. I wanted to shoot people. Coincidentally I ended up taking mug shots and now I'm looking at faces all night long.
I became a fitness trainer because I like bodies, (well I didn't like mine at the time, but that's another story.) Aside from the physical attraction of the female form (for which I do not apologize), I like the aesthetic qualities of both genders; the lines, the curves, the muscles, the way the veins accentuate the limbs. I like to watch people walk and move - even over weight people. I'm fascinated how their bodies compensate for the weight. I feel bad for them when I watch them struggle to get around, but still... I can't look away.
Montreal 2012
When I'm traveling to and fro, usually on some form of public transportation or on foot, I find myself imagining what the OG looked like as a young bulh. I see adult faces on children and realize this kid's face won't change. I like to watch mature women role their eyes at the silly young girls on the train as they display their new bodies - they've got to be remembering their own pubescent bodies and telling themselves, reassuringly that they were much more sophisticated at that age. I look at old men and imagine the changes they've seen... from listening to serials on the radio, to watching moving images on Ipods... like Dick Tracy or Star Trek.
Occasionally I'll sneak a look and wonder what the person is thinking. I wonder how long they've been making the same trip to work... same time, seeing the same people on the bus or train. What did they really want to do before situations began dictating to them, rather than the other way around? And at what point did those things change?
As I await my turn to sit down I gaze at my reflection in the door and think to myself "what's next?" Thanks to many, many people who have inspired me in ways they probably can't imagine, I've been able to do a lot of things simply because I wanted to do them, while at the same time making that trip to and from that same job for many, many, many years. Seeing the same people on the train, and watching some of them grow up... literally through high school.
It's far from the best of both worlds, but even further from the worst of anything.
I still I wonder if my face shows tranquility and or satisfaction. I wonder if my body language suggests a certain element of confidence but not too much pride or comfort. Or maybe I just disappear into the glare of the sunlight, unnoticed. That's what a good observer should be unnoticed.