Beautiful and Ugly - We All Make Friends Where We Can

I was talking to a friend about our street photography hobby the other day.

Frank's approach is a lot different than mine. He spends all day with a high-end camera and gets one or two "perfect" shots. Mostly he stands there and watches the people.

I just hold out my cell phone while I walk around, and take 300 pictures an hour.

He's also a lot more conspicuous in his approach. The other day he took a picture of a homeless woman. She stood up and threw her cup of change at him.

But he said something I really agree with. "It's a boring photographer who only takes beautiful pictures."

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Here's a man I passed in Boston Common last week.

I would guess he's suffering from neurofibromatosis or something similar. (Warning: there's some images behind that link more disturbing than mine.)

He was sitting alone, on one of those walker-things that doubles as a seat, and feeding the pigeons.

It was something he'd clearly done a lot. He'd come prepared with peanuts and other snacks for the birds.

There was no judgment, no ostracism. As long as he sat still and provided some food, they were happy to keep him company. And he seemed quite content to spend time with birds which most residents of the city would consider a nuisance.

The birds even stood on his legs and feet, casting dramatic shadows behind them.

Oddly enough, the pigeon on his toe had a deformity of its own: a prominent growth on the back of the head. This tumor was completely lacking in its shadow.

An indication, perhaps, that you can approach an "ugly" image from a different angle and find some beauty there, after all.

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I suppose it might be uncharitable to share this video, but... too late.

I've got the song running through my head now, and you should too.

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