Camera: Fuji X-Pro2
Exposure: 1/850
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 23mm (35mm equivalent)
ISO: 800
The reporter Alex Chadwick maintained that everyone has a story. Pick a random person on the street and you will find a story if you just ask a couple of questions. Besides, asking questions of the people around you is enormously rewarding and reveals a level of complexity in society that one does not typically think about.
Camera: Fuji X-Pro2
Exposure: 1/420
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 23mm (35mm equivalent)
ISO: 200
This is Jose. I typically walk or bike to the laboratory, but this rainy November day I decided to jump on the campus shuttle to escape the rain. This is where I met the driver Jose, piloting campus shuttles around the University of Utah campus. Jose asked me about my camera and a conversation grew out of that. Jose grew up in El Salvador and during the Salvadoran Civil War that claimed members of his family, he escaped to the United States with family to remake their lives. Jose worked construction for a number of years and then was fortunate to get a job at the University for the benefits.
Stories like Jose’s are always compelling to me as I’ve been fortunate enough to grow up in a stable democracy. It is easy to forget how good most Americans have it which is why travel and exposure to diverse people and places is so important. Understanding what is possible when governments become unstable is an important part of civics. It is why we should study history and reveals the importance of being a responsible citizen, particularly now, two days away from the 2016 United States national election. My request to you all: Please vote. And make good decisions.
P.S. Jose, thanks for the ride and for the wonderful chat.