Photography & poetry by Dela Charles.
Remember back in 2019? When things were kinda normal.
Feels like such a long time ago now it’s easy to forget.
Fortunately Berlin based photographer and skateboarder Dela Charles sent us these photos from a trip to New York City in late spring 2019 to remind us.
Attached with a poem of sorts, Dela’s work reflect on people’s duties and the joy in aimlessly walking the busy streets of what author E. B. White dubbed, ‘The Capital Of The World’.
Duties. People’s duties?!
A street, a crossing, a path, that leads you into the same pattern of streets all day.
Sometimes a little plaza or park at the end. From one street into the next one, not even realising where or when.
Rolling down the street, seeing nothing but buildings everywhere – welcome to NYC.
A place easy to get lost in, just by just strolling around and spontaneously taking a right or left.
Watching people and being watched.
Moving fast. Some colours here, some patterns there.
People everywhere.
Crowded streets, where you only hustle to catch the next traffic light.
A bicycle here, a skateboard there but mostly cars everywhere.
Not to forget a walking, almost running crowd.
Stop. Breath in. Breath out. What am I doing here?
Nothing but still something – observing, equipped with my camera.
Capturing scenarios, things, moments and people on their way to wherever.
Just as unknown, as one to another.
A place that never rests, almost providing a constant sensory overload not knowing what to photograph. Everything or nothing.
You don’t realise how time passes at all.
Only when the sunset light hits the city does it hit you that another day is over.
A new colour palette for photographs, followed by a dark night lit up by artificial light.
Entertaining people or keeping them busy working in the urban jungle, forgetting about time.
Life slowly slows down but it won’t stop.
Sometimes a nice breeze with the smell of the city’s smog hits your face – the city breathes, it is real.
Going back and forth, same street, different day.
Everything has changed, except the buildings and structures.
Different people, different cars, different life.
Trying to get a hold of time – impossible.
Not knowing what I was doing, just preparing, but what for?
Putting all these photos together makes me tell a story about New York in late spring 2019.
The city full of people who never slow down.
