Hotel Men Only

Beautiful weather the last few days in Chicago, so I caught a train downtown on Friday to do some shooting. I found this flophouse right across the street from the Metropolitan Correctional Center on Clark St. I was shooting a couple photos, and thinking about the despair that must be present in a run down hotel across the street from a prison, when someone struck up an interesting conversation:

"That's just a hotel for men to stay at. It's not a gay place."
"Yeah, I know."
"Are you a reporter?"
"No."
"I thought you were a reporter doing a story on gay places."
"No, I just think the sign is interesting."
"Oh."

There's something about carrying around a somewhat complicated looking camera that makes people curious. I was asked if I was a professional three times on Friday by random people on the street. I don't think my camera is professional looking, actually. It's red, not serious black! I had two other cameras with me as well, a Holga covered in gaffer's tape, and a very '50's looking Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, and those look even less professional than my 'real' camera. And that's not even addressing the 'professional' issue. I consider myself an artist, not a photographer, so how do I answer that question?