Chad, Moving

Downtown Greensboro has the right bones for this kind of shoot. The underpasses, the loading docks, the roll-up doors and rusted fire escapes, the street signs pointing nowhere in particular. Chad was an aspiring singer and dancer, and when he agreed to shoot he understood exactly what that meant. He came dressed for it and brought everything with him.

The ask was simple: move like you actually move, and let the camera find you. What followed was Chad working every location like it was a stage. Arms spread wide against a corrugated door. Leaning into a street arrow sign in an underpass with the beams fanning out behind him. Seated loose on a loading dock with a red warning sign on the brick beside him, looking up like he had nowhere else to be.

One of the most committed frames from the day has him face down on a rusted fire escape staircase, tie hanging between the steps, looking straight into the lens. That shot only happens when someone gives you everything. Chad gave everything.