Over the past two years, I have taken hundreds of photos of people from all different types of backgrounds and beliefs. I love street photography. I will say, most of the folks I have met have been pretty nice. However, not all of them. Some, like this man today, have been down right mean.
This fella demanded I take him to Walgreen's. I captured this photo late one afternoon next to a Nashville bus station. The woman who was sitting down behind him at the bus stop looked at me as the man reached around for his back pocket and stated, "He's got a KNIFE!" I then took a few steps back as he removed his hand and told me he wanted to fight. He never pulled the knife out, there were too many people around.
A few more steps back and he took a swing at me. He appeared to be intoxicated, so I simply pushed his hand away as it flew in my direction in slow motion. He continued to walk towards me cursing every step and I continued to snap photos. Another swing, I pushed his hand away again. It was becoming comical. I stated, "I'm not going to fight you, you have a knife... and why would I fight you to begin with?" He then said, "I have no knife, you wanna' frisk me." I replied with a laugh, "No, I don't want to frisk you."
By no, I had my shot... I thanked him and calmly walked away. He leaned up against the guardrail shortly after I left. He appeared to be catching his breath. I am thankful... I am thankful I gave him a workout. Now, he just needs to clean his mouth out with some soap.