Denver Street Photography No. 2

Welcome to Denver street photography; a series from Think Darryl Photography. People have always inspired me; every morning I start my day off by exploring Denver often listening to some great jazz or plugged into the sounds of the city. Some people need coffee to start their day, I'd rather tap into the unlimited amount of energy from my surroundings. 

My day started on the corner of 15th and Arapahoe in Downtown Denver. I had a very difficult time finding parking, but finally landed this sweet spot that even had the meter paid for an hour and a half; thank you Universe! I got my bag and the lenses I wanted for the day and began walking towards the 16th Street Mall.

As I was approaching 16th street, I saw the man in the picture walking frantically. I decided to follow him to see what the urgency was all about. He was walking towards the trash can on the corner. He searched through it for a few moments and then moved on frantically walking towards the next one. I continued to follow him and his strategy to get to as many trash cans as possible. This went on for blocks and blocks. I began to wonder what he was actually looking for; I was sure in one of the trash cans there had to be some type of food he could eat/recycle. 

Then it dawned on me, maybe he isn't searching for food at all, maybe there is another treasure he is looking for in these trash cans. I had to find out what he was looking for, so I kept following him block after block; trying to guess what he was actually looking for. After about 12 blocks I was loosing hope that he would actually find his treasure, and maybe I should go look for something else to focus on. I told myself 5 more blocks and then I'll move on. 3 blocks later he finally found something, I couldn't see what it was just yet as it was pretty deep in the trash can. When he finally pulled it out it was a drink cup from a restaurant.

His eyes lit up, he found his treasure. I was so confused. This is really what he was looking for? All this searching for drink cup? There was clearly something in it as he happily drank it for a block or so. But why, why was this drink cup so significant. In this confusion I had a moment of clarity; it's not for me to know.

All I know is this man was searching for something and was not going to settle for anything less. Then I had another thought, how many trash cans would I search through to find my treasure? One, five, ten? I still don't have an answer, but I really respect this mans persistence.