DARIN HAYTON

Tag: Alexey Titarenko

  • Ghosts in the Café

    Ghosts in the Café

    Lately I have been inspired by the long-exposure photos of Alexey Titarenko. I think his “City of Shadows” is beautiful and haunting. To be sure, some of my fascination comes from my fascination with 1990s St. Petersburg. Nonetheless, I find the images lovely. So I thought I would try some long or, in this case, multiple exposures

    Black and white photo inside a cafe. All the patrons are blurred out.
    Urban #230911.

    The local café is convenient and has reasonable coffee, so I am practicing there. I like the look, but need to find a better location. I should head into the city one night. Maybe if we get snow this winter. I have some places in mind that will, I hope, look good.

    Black and white photo inside a cafe. All the patrons are blurred out.
    Urban #230916
  • Business is slow

    Business is slow

    Seven women sit in the cafe. I’m the eighth person. Aside from the worker’s voice that carries, the room is quiet. One woman is writing something, her pen poised above a pad of paper. One woman reads a book. Two are working on class assignments — like most students, “work” seems to mean announce that they have assignments to finish, and then to talk to each other about non-assignment issues (e.g., “I’m looking for an audio version of that book I wanted to read” and “My Spotify smart list introduced me to lots of new music” she said as she put in her earbuds). Another woman just entered and put her stuff on the table nearest me. She ordered an iced chai.

    The three workers behind the counter pass the time by telling stories.

    Urban #230916. A black and white photograph of ghostly images in a cafe.
    Urban #230916

    Three more women just entered; an old man followed them in. They stopped to put there stuff on a table. He walked straight up to the counter, ordered a large black coffee — “No” he replied when asked if he needed room for cream — and immediately left with his coffee. The women order lattes, one with vanilla.

    So went the first hour of business. Maybe the incessant rain discouraged customers from coming in.