I arrive early, again. But actually not really – i just arrive before him. He is running late due to a BART issue – which I had seen when I was transiting.

We had agreed to meet in the bookstore of the Ferry Building. He arrives. I recognize him from his picture say hi. He gives me this derisive sneer and looks me up and down and says my name in a questioning manner. As if I don’t look anything like my pictures.

So far no one else has had an issue knowing its me. Then he proceeds to tell me about his new camera and shows it to me, holding it out. I reach out to it and ask if I can hold it and he immediately pulls it back. I can tell this is not going well.

Then he turns and walks out of the store to the waterfront and I follow. He is on a mission and I don’t get a chance to ask which way we should go or what he is interested in photographing.

He starts telling long interesting stories but if I interrupt with a question he deflects and says “to finish my point”. This is not a conversation this is a lecture.

I hardly get a word in edgewise even to ask questions about what he is saying. He has these set stories. He deflects questions about his day job. He asks me nothing about myself, my photography or my work.

We make a big loop along the embarcadero from the ferry building all the way down to the ballpark and around. I take one picture. He takes none. This was supposed to be a photo walk but he hasn’t bothered to even discuss where we wanted to go.

We get back to the ferry building and I ask if he wants to sit and grab a coffee. Maybe chat and he says no, he needs to get on with his day. As if I was this imposition to his plans.

Very weird. No hard feelings because there was NO connection at all.

I end up grabbing a coffee anyway and then head home to get some work done in my studio.