36th and Keswick in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
‘The Wire’ is perhaps one of the best known portrayals of contemporary Baltimore. However, my experience in the Hampden neighborhood has had little to do with this TV drama. I’ve found the neighborhood peaceful and quiet. On mornings when I need to commute out of the neighborhood, I drive up the avenue past these zigzagging lines made by a confused city worker. They strike me as an odd sumi-e painting on the surface of a street full of such palimpsest. This struck me as a fitting response to Baltimore and my attempts to make sense of my new life here over the past month.
Place you live: Hampden Neighborhood in Baltimore, MD, USA
Place your photo was taken: Hampden Neighborhood, on The Avenue (36th St) at its intersection with Keswick Rd.
Can you sum up Baltimore? I’ve always had trouble ‘summing’ up places I’ve lived; cities are so complex. I’ve only lived in Baltimore for about a month now, and it has been quite a busy month at that. So far though, I’ve liked what I’ve seen in Baltimore. The folks I’ve encountered have been welcoming and rent is much more reasonable than most any other city its size in the Northeast and MidAtlantic. I just wish there was an easier way to get through the downtown, especially when a sports event is going on… between auto racing, football, and baseball, it seems there is always a sports event going on in Baltimore in the Autumn.
Occupation: Photographer
A little known fact about where you live? It’s where John Waters filmed ‘Pecker.’