Well, here we are. It’s time for the last photowalk of the year. 2024 is coming to and end. I struggled as usual to decide where to go and finally ended up at my regular stomping ground, downtown. I didn’t stay too long. I knew I had to get home in time to make dinner with friends so I put $4 on the parking meter to cover me for a couple of hours and set out.

I really wanted to make this a fresh experience. I don’t want to just shoot the same things until everyone, myself included, is sick of seeing them. You have to really stretch and look for new things. Maybe it’s an alley you’ve never stumbled upon.

Maybe it’s the glow of a neon sign you’ve ignored every other time you’ve walked by.

One thing that I always seem drawn to is shapes and patterns. I love shadows and leaving it to the viewer to decide what cast it.

I definitely found myself in new places just by wandering a few extra blocks. I suppose it’s true, there’s a lot to see around us if we only open our eyes. It doesn’t have to be serious, either. Make life interesting through the ordinary.

I ended up only spending a little over an hour wandering around, and that includes a break for lunch. The day an unexpected twist for me as well. As I was walking back to my car, I passed by the park where I always start. I heard what sounded like a gunshot followed by a very angry man yelling at everyone. It was clear that he was mad at the world. I wondered if I’d really heard what I thought I had. Nobody seemed frantic. There was no running or screaming. As I walked past the guy, he yelled after me. I ignored it but used the reflections in the windows to keep an eye on him.

Apparently, I had heard correctly. Police cars soon swarmed the area and others continued to fly past. I don’t know if the shooter ran or not. I wandered aimlessly a bit before deciding I didn’t really have anything to add. In hindsight, I suppose I could’ve offered a description, but in reality, I didn’t see who fired the shot. I could only assume that it was the person who had been yelling. I put my gear back in the car and headed home. It gives new meaning to the phrase, “I’m going to go out and do some shooting.”

1/1/25 Update
The local news finally posted some information. I guess things were a little froggy yesterday. The first shooting of 2025 happened at the same park about 8 hours after I was there. Crazy. Two shootings at the same park and I was there for one of them. Apparently nobody was injured in the first one, and a minor was hit in the leg. The child was just an innocent bystander.