Waiting for her train to arrive

Catching up
Toronto, ON
February 2017
Thematic. Favorites. Here.

The scene: Toronto's Union Station. We're in the waiting room of this sprawling, crowded, chaotic place. At least I think it's the waiting room, because the station has been under construction forever and you're never quite sure where they'll stick you as you wait for your train to arrive.

I've come here with some colleagues, and we're all on our way back to London after a work thing. While the rest of my team quietly sits and waits for our boarding call - aka normal behavior - I restlessly pace the area, looking for things to record with my smartphone's camera. Why the smartphone? For all its limitations - no zoom, the horrors! - I figure it's a lot less obtrusive to shoot in a public place than the full-on, "real" camera I have in my backpack. So smartphone it is. Gotta love spontaneous shooting.

I can't help but notice the people around us. Each one has a story, and I try to avoid capturing their attention as I stare around the area and try to read the scene. I keep coming back to this woman with the large-ish headphones on her head and the time-worn, taped-up laptop perched expertly on her lap. What's she listening to? Death metal? Post-punk? Hip hop/jazz fusion? What's she doing on that laptop? Emailing her board of directors? Setting up lunch for her team? Breaking into the White House email server?

Whatever she's up to, she's clearly got this Via Rail/road warrior thing down, and as much as I risk crossing the line by surreptitiously pointing my tiny lens toward her, I can't resist. This is the signature memory of the 15 minutes spent here with my colleagues, so I line up the shot and take it.

She never even knew I was there.

Your turn: A photo that pushed your personal comfort zone. Aaaaaand...go!

Related:
This same photo in my Instagram feed....here.
Two ladies chat (January 2007)
A stranger's sojourn by the sea (January 2007)
Strangers among us (December 2011)
A conversation among friends (August 2014)