Waiting Around Ruston

Waiting is a shared experience. If you think about it, we have all had to wait for something at some point. Waiting is part of life, then it seems.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve created documentary-style images of scenes that reminded me of growing up in Ruston, Louisiana.

A significant portion of this work has been concentrated in the historic, small downtown area, eventually expanding to other locations within the city limits. What I began to notice (at first subconsciously – just through the pictures I was taking) is that there are waiting spaces all over Ruston.

What I mean by that is: benches, steps, chairs, and the like. Some are obvious, in plain sight.

Others not so much.

Many are clean, comfortable, and welcoming.

Several are worn, weathered, and foreboding.

This is a visual story of Waiting Around Ruston as told through my camera. Be it an old bench that has witnessed many a winter sunrises, or chairs placed haphazardly for a quick conversation, these are the places where people pause and let life catch up. Imagine the stories they could tell.

How many of these waiting spaces have you seen but never really noticed?

How many of them have you passed the time with before?

I used 3 different camera and lens combinations over the span of this project. While I wanted to keep this body of work consistent, each lens and sensor setup renders image tones and color slightly differently.

All that said, using similar minimal editing, I am pleased with the overall cohesiveness of the project in black and white.

The gear I used: