How about the people I met at the Flea Market? They were very interesting, to say the least. In fact I don’t remember having spoken with so many people on any previous photo session. Obviously most of these sellers had something to say, perhaps a little story to share. They were generally talkative because it was part of their business to be talkative. How else would they promote their wares?

Friendly was the word for the day but I came across one particular hostile gentleman who I will probably remember for a long time. He was rather old and rustic-looking with his cowboy hat and shirt, sitting behind a table with odds and ends and talking to someone. His profile looked perfect for a shot so I quickly tried to frame him and snap a quick one but he turned in that instant and saw me taking his picture. I would have gone along and taken it anyway even if he had already lost his natural pose but then he came very close to threatening me with bodily harm if I took that picture. He exclaimed something along the lines of him not being a superstar and he didn’t need paparazzo’s taking his picture. He also called me “inconsiderate” and “rude” because I didn’t ask for his permission beforehand. I then explicitly asked for permission but he basically told me to scram so I did, feeling a bit sorry for the old dude.

Apart from this bitter old man, I only met smiling, friendly sellers. One particular gentleman, Arthur Nesser I believe his name is, started a conversation with me while I was shooting the beautiful stained glass windows he was selling. I also asked him if he would pose for me and he did, cheerfully. Mr. Nesser gave me his card so you can see more of his work at www.nesserartglass.com. (Now I hope the gentleman’s name was Arthur Nesser. If not, I apologize for the confusion. I didn’t think to ask him what his name was, after he handed me his card.)

Another interesting person was an older gentleman selling all sorts of knives. I asked him if I could handle one of the more impressive ones he had on sale and he told me a little story regarding that knife. It was an Indian kukri knife but to be honest, I had the feeling it was only a replica. One of my best friends in this world is Indian and he once showed me a real kukri knife that he received from a relative who had served in the army. So that knife was a real regulation army knife. This other one that the gentleman was selling, although bigger and meaner looking, didn’t have the feel of a real combat knife. I guess it was meant to be displayed instead of being a lethal instrument.

Finally, another older gentleman started asking me about my cameras, especially the digital Canon 30D, while I was shooting some toys he was selling. During a lengthy conversation, which clearly showed he knew what he was talking about, he revealed that at one point in his life he had owned a photo studio and he still kept a bunch of medium format cameras but unfortunately those weren’t for sale.

Like I said, interesting people selling interesting (but mostly useless) things…

Note: Click on the images for a larger version.

• Kane County Flea Market - Part 1
• Kane County Flea Market - Part 2
• Kane County Flea Market - Part 3
• Kane County Flea Market - Part 4
• Kane County Flea Market - Part 5
• Kane County Flea Market - Part 6

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2007 at 9:03 pm and is filed under Canon EOS 30D, Documentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.