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For a long time, I have been interested in street photography. One of the most exciting things is the jungle we live in, Vancouver. This place has many extremes, which are reflected on the streets, literally the streets. You can tell a good area from a bad one from the look or smell of the streets and sidewalks you are on. So, I am going to get into that and document some cool shit! I can’t wait.
Starting here with this photo I got today. What is Normal to You? I can do better than this photo, but I like what I see here. There is a foundation to start learning. The picture shows a guy on the right who is not concerned about the open drug use or users but does seem to have something else on his mind. The drug users are continuing to use their illicit street drugs openly. They don’t seem to mind the public exposure. The use of heroin or meth is entirely every day for them.
I will often go out to find images like this and others that will be grittier. I will look for the difficult. I am attracted to the dark. But, like Vancouver, I am also extreme. I love beautiful things like love, fashion, art, culture, travel & adventure. However, I also like the dark and decayed. I like the reality of a situation as well as the fantasy.
I am not against hard drug use. I will not be engaging in it, but a person’s choice is their choice, and they have the right to engage in that type of destructive behaviour if they want. We need to legalize all hard drugs and work to provide a significant and wide-ranging level of addiction services. We also need to promote personal responsibility where that is appropriate. I’m also not into the world is at fault, not me!
The last word I will say on all this tonight is that I understand the consequences of all this. My brother died in February of 2022 from an overdose. He was using alone in his SRO and was not found for ten days. From start to finish, his is a dark tale. I will right about him sometime later.