I knew it was just a matter of time before I would take some photo that would be impactful in one way or another. To be fair (and actually a little modest) I would like to think that I have done that already. Probably in more ways than one but I just haven't been aware of it. Well this most recent example was one that was so blatantly obvious that I had to speak on it. And I almost missed it myself until someone else brought it to my attention.
This past First Fridays was just another First Fridays for me. Nothing out of the ordinary. I went and did my thing knocking out dozens and dozens of shots as usual. I made sure that I got a lot of the same looks I always get from familiar angles. The views are the same but the scenery (as in the people) is always different so it works out. Then I left thinking nothing else about it. Until I happened to see folks talking on The Book early the next morning about a tragedy that occurred in our city. The first homicide of 2012. A young brotha was shot and killed in a drive-by around 3am Saturday morning.
It wasn't long before folks started flooding Facebook with their favorite pictures of the young man. His face didn't look familiar to me at all. Neither did his name. I knew a lot of younger folks from my interactions with First Fridays and the like but he wasn't one of them. Even though it turns out he knew several of the same people that I knew.
So I edited my First Fridays pics and posted them like I always do. Folks were going out there as normal, finding themselves and/or their friends and commenting accordingly. The photos had been up for few days when I noticed that someone had pointed out that the slain young man was in one of them. I went to the picture to see if I could recognize him. What I found was very eerie.
The photo you see here is the group shot that he is in. For those of you that know nothing about the brotha that passed or what he looks like, what's the very first thing about this picture that jumps out at you? Did you see the brotha near the front who's looking directly at the camera? And the reason that stands out is because out of that crowd of over 100 people, he is the ONLY one looking directly at the camera. He's the one who would end up being murdered only a couple of hours after this picture was taken.
I just found it very odd how completely random and yet purely coincidental this picture turned out to be. It was a shot where I was just trying to capture as much as the First Fridays crowd as possible. A random shot of everyone doing their own thing. Just as I wanted, no one was paying attention as they were all in their own little world. No one even noticing I was taking the picture. Except for him. I wouldn't realize that until it was brought to my attention in a comment days later.
Here am I thinking that I was just taking my standard First Friday pictures. I had no idea that I would end up capturing the last recorded memory of this young man. And maybe it's just me but the look on his face almost seemed rather prophetic. Sure, it could have been happenstance that I just caught that expression at that moment. However, it also has a look of serenity. As if he that picture at that moment was meant to be taken to preserve his last photographed moment in time.
Rest in peace, Teandre.
