South Paw plays his guitar on Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo
he once was a baseball player
a catcher.

He spent a few years playing his guitar in San Francisco
now he winters in SLO
he likes it here a lot.

His girlfriend lives in Montana
south of Missoula
he spends the summers there.
“Her son plays baseball”
he says smiling.
“We play together
even though throwing is now hard for me.
Over used, carpal tunnel” he says
looking down at his forearm.

We shake hands
exchange names
“South Paw Marc, with a cee” he says
followed shortly by
“Arati, that’s a Sanskrit word, right?”
“Yeah, it is” I reply after a brief pause
having been caught completely by surprise.

We laugh
in this moment
no longer strangers.

Venturing into ‘Street Photography’
This photo of South Paw is my first attempt at approaching a stranger to ask them if I can take their photograph. I saw him from across the street and took a couple of pictures. I paced around for a bit, feeling uncomfortably awkward, a bit apprehensive, not wanting to intrude… and yet so much wanting to walk up and ask him if I could take his photograph. I’m delighted that I did!
I greatly appreciate the woman sitting at her computer in the cafe. I have no idea who she is, I was aware of her being there and brought her into the frame. I am grateful for her presence and like how she came to add another dimension and story to this image.

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