When taking photographs from a train one feels a little like a voyeur. I get a quick glimpse of a life or area and my mind immediately makes assumptions. What do I know about this man? Very little actually. I know that he is standing in front of a nicely maintained house looking at a tree early on a Tuesday afternoon. There is a wheelbarrow on the sidewalk and he is dressed for outdoor work. Of course it is only from his build that I am assuming it is a man at all. Something about his posture and dress makes me think he is up in years.
So from this little bit of info I have developed a story in my mind about this photograph. This man and his wife have lived in this home for many years. They have raised their children in this home. All along, while working to raise his family this man landscaped and maintained his yard. Now he is retired and he putters in the yard to pass his time.
Of course he could just as easily be a hired gardener for the rich family living inside who is off to school and work at this time. It is a big house and you can’t see if from the cropped photograph but the original shows a very big yard. But it seems too modest a home, especially being right by the railroad tracks, for a family that can afford a gardener. Maybe he has just been hired to put down mulch but where is his work truck?
What do you think? Tell me a story of this man and this house.
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