Sidewalk Chats with New Yorkers #203

Louis Mendes photographed by me. 

Yesterday I met this guy on the street. I saw he was holding this giant camera that looked to have come from the beginning of time. I asked him if I could take a photo of it.
He replied, "Can I take your photograph?"
"Nah I'm not good in photos and I'm just a photographer," I said. All the while realizing that this was the first time I had referred to myself as a photographer - which I am most definitely not.
"I'm a photographer too," he shrugged his shoulders.
I then changed the subject to his camera in order to avoid any awkward moments. We talked about the 1940's and he asked if I'd like to buy a photograph of myself - the New York hustle. I said I didn't have any cash on me which was true. I then started to edge away as if I was leaving. He stopped me, "Aren't you going to take my picture?"
"Yeah sure", I replied.
"You've got one shot at this" he said.
I nodded my head. Changed my position like 4 times and then took the photo.
"Can you put that on the facebook?" he asked.
"Yeah sure" I said.
"You got google on your phone?" he asked.
"Yeah" I said taking my phone out of my pocket.
"Google me. My name's Louis Mendes"
I googled him and to my surprise he had a pretty extensive Wikipedia page. He'd photographed the likes of Morgan Freeman and Spike Lee. He knows his stuff.
I asked him if he knew Editta Sherman and her celebrity portraits. He paused for a while and seemed to remember some lady having a fire up in Carnegie Hall. I told him that was probably her.
"You like her stuff?" he asked.
I nodded "Yeah I love it!".
"Then why don't you do it?" he pressed.
"Oh you know it's too hard to get in to. There's too.."
He quickly interjected, "NO, no it's not".
"Yeah" I said sheepishly
He looked at me and said, "You kick those doors in. You have just keep doing it, it's not hard. You gotta do it. "
"Yeah", was all that came out of my mouth.
"And look you just started with me"
I nodded, "Thank you", and I was on my way.

So in the space of about 10minutes someone evaluated my whole life. Only in New York. I probably wont be a photographer, but nonetheless I think it was good advice. You just gotta do it.

The old 'you can do anything if you put your mind to it' thing. I see what he did there.

☮ Morgs