When I was invited to Washington in 1995 for the American Politicians Exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery (MOMA-Susan Kismaric Curator) I used my time to hunt for new scenes for my “Still Movies” project. I have always believed that intuition is a big part of being a documentary photographer and that is why I started shooting this bicycle messenger (?) and professional looking woman who were chatting near the White house. The last time I had been in Washington was to protest the Vietnam war in 1971. It was a racially challenged city and I think that scene would not have happened. When they kissed goodbye, I knew it couldn’t have happened.
I was shooting with a 100mm lens so I was not far from my subjects and I never hide. When she walked up to me and asked what I would do with those photographs I said “Probably put them in a museum.” She said “Good” and walked on. I thought about these two people yesterday and smiled.
p.s. They are not yet in a museum.
george