The Occupy Portraits: A Photo Essay

occupy wall street, new york city 22-26 January 2012 I am humbled by the immense capacity for kindness from helpful strangers in a city filled with tourists, who like me, are often one bus or train away from getting lost. The light was quickly fading to night - cold fast becoming freezing. I was hoping for one last portrait in the remaining daylight before my fingers were too frozen to adjust the settings of the camera. A small crowd had been gathered around him all day. I’d been told that this had remained his table during Oc- cupy Wall Street’s tent city, which he’d promptly become actively involved with. People watched the game while patiently awaiting their turn to pay a dollar, win or lose, to play him speed-chess. It was only a matter of moments until this retired chemist had won – apparently he’d yet to lose a game and had since become an Occupy journalist / activist. He would allow me to make his portrait, but only if I allowed him to wear his dark sunglasses. For a moment we playfully sparred about it. In Spanish I explained that not one person in the photo essay wore dark sunglasses as the connection I seek in my images is conveyed through the eyes. My argument only solidified his stance - he reasoned that his would be the only pho- tograph with someone wearing dark glasses. Afterward I asked for directions to the church at 86th and Amsterdam allowing in Occupy folks seeking a place to stay the night. With my forty- pound backpack strapped to Paco’s rolling chess cart I followed the unrelentingly fast path he wove through the crowded sidewalks of New York City’s rush hour traffic. As I’d requested, our first stop was the Atrium at 60 Wall Street for the weekly Occupy Media Work Group meeting. A few more hours of chess for him, and a few more portraits for me – in addition to the delicious and free Thai noodle dish served as the nightly meal by Occupy to those who are hungry. I was starved but did not want to miss a minute, fascinated by the quick pace and progress of a meeting 20 people strong. By the time I momentarily broke away from the group for a bite the food was gone. As I returned to the Media Group, resigned to a nutrition bar in my backpack, Paco handed me a plate of food he’d saved along with the slightest grin - perpetually two steps ahead, or more. Afterwards, I followed him on a subway ride and finally up two flights of steps at the church to Paco’s favorite corner of the community room where he and 40 others spent the night until 8 a.m. when everyone had to leave for the day. My night of portraits started with a tour of the historic church by exhausted, but warmhearted Reverend Bob. He graciously agreed to be photographed as an Occupy activist, thus beginning my all-night portrait vigil with those now more accurately referred to as the ‘houseless’ rather than the ‘homeless.’ In the morning Paco treated me to breakfast at a favorite two-story shop/café where they already knew how to make his sweetened specialty chocolate drink. In no time he was lost in researching a resistance group from Germany in the 40’s on one of the dozen computers available for a fee by the hour. Following, a day of rain as he escorted me cross town to a computer store for help uploading videos to the internet from the new all-in-one telephone/computer/internet/video camera/navigating tool I’d borrowed for the journey, and then trips to two postal outlets for shipping a second batch of film home to Los Angeles, safe from potential rowdy police deriving sport in harassing protestors.