portraiture, unbeknownst
Recently, I encountered several San Francisco gentlemen along my daily peregrinations (on different days) and something about their demeanor and forms made me take a photo of them, capturing the moment.
Here for instance was this group of nā kūpuna in the marvelous oasis of Woh Hei Yuen park in Chinatown (I say a 'marvelous oasis' as the neighborhood is dense and bustling, as every resident or visitor there knows). I was curious to see what board game they were playing and went over to look...
...had I waited a beat more, I would've captured the shy, subtle smile on the manong's face on the left, as he realized I was taking their photo. The game is called xiàngqí, which I had ascertained by showing an image of it to Gemini. I moved over to the other side of the park table, and watched them play for a while.
In the photos below, the captures are surreptitious, and requested. The one on the left is obviously the former. I had gone to the rear-most section of the 28 Daly City bus, and noticed the man across from me and his dog. I had half a mind to ask if I could take their pictures, but something in the man's ramrod-seated posture and serious face counseled me not to disturb his meditations. Also: the scary tattoos — that's the infamous REDRUM on his left forearm, stylized. ::chuckle:: The dog, on the other hand, looked non-scary, content to sleep his head on his human's lap, on the ride.
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The image on the right is the one in which I asked the guy if I could take his photo. I was walking along Blue Heron Lake at Golden Gate Park, when he disembarked from his bike nearby to where I was standing. I complimented his cool long-sleeve shirt, and he said it was a mashup art piece that one of his students made for him; turns out Walter was a semi-retired SF State University professor, and loved biking through SF's parks and hanging out at this GGP lake in particular.
The above is another frame from the Yuen park tableau. I loved how the old guys were so focused on their playing, they didn't mind me hovering about, watching and taking pictures. Apparently, xiàngqí is a strategy board game representing "...a battle between two armies, with the primary object being to checkmate the enemy's general (king)."
Very cool.