A sudden burst of at-work photography

Please take oneices
Toronto, ON
February 2018

The scene: I'm attending a work conference, surrounded by hundreds of colleagues from the eastern half of the country. The company has arranged a buffet-style lunch in the lobby outside the auditorium, and we're all lined up, plates in hand, waiting for the teeming, hungry masses ahead of us to load up and move on.

As you might expect when colleagues from near and far reconnect with each other, the noise level is off the charts. The line is moving slowly, which means lots of spontaneous discussions between strangers and friends alike. The line I'm in grinds to a halt near the drink section, and I find myself suddenly inspired to pull my phone from my pocket and line up a shot of the cans.

It doesn't take long for smiles to be cracked as good-natured questions and comments get tossed my way:

"Where's that shot going to turn up?"
"How do I find you on Instagram?|
"Want me to take the picture so you can get into the shot?"
"What are you doing?"

The discussion flows animatedly as I snag three fast frames and then tuck the phone back away. Almost as soon as the moment materialized, it recedes as the line begins to move again and everyone moves in to finish the original task at hand. I pick up the rest of my lunch and melt back into the crowd. I'm pretty sure more than one of my newfound friends thought I was more than a little weird.

I'm perfectly fine with that. Because if a hastily taken photo manages to make others smile, then it's totally worth it.

Your turn: How can photography connect people?