Having started my photo essay rather early I felt that I had a good understanding of what I was going to be shooting. But upon returning to Lisbon Avenue I was faced with a new challenge that was to explore the area. I have a very hard time shooting and documenting in this area for some reason. I have tried in the past to take photos on the in this general area, but I ended up getting harassed by a drunken man on the sidewalk. To me it’s one of my greatest challenges that I had to overcome. I have major anxiety when it comes to shooting in this part of town. For example on my last visit people kept asking me if I was the police because I have a very large camera and I was taking photos of buildings and things on the streets. After about an hour of shooting I felt much more comfortable and I felt like I was able to explore the area more. My anxiety lifted once I reached the Washington Park Library.
After having done some research and taken some photos in the Library, I discovered much about the Washington Park Area that I never knew before. The area was one of Milwaukee’s most vibrant and active areas. Washington Park itself was very fun to shoot it’s a very big beautiful park I would love to return when the snow melts or just in the summer. The Band shell kind of snuck up on me, as weird as that sounds I wasn’t expecting it. It just adds something to the park that makes this whole area bittersweet. The only way I can describe it is by saying that this park is like a gem stuck in a bunch of tar, and it’s not until the tar is cleaned up and redeveloped that the community can fully enjoy the gem that is Washington Park.
One problem I had to face in shooting this area is the rudeness of the community members. While standing on the side walk taking pictures a car on Lisbon got in the right lane and intentionally drove through a huge puddle of water spraying dirty water up into the air and all over me. Luckily it didn’t get on my camera very much and it was mostly on my jeans.
Overall though I am glad that I actually got out there on the streets and took these shots. I discovered a section of town that I never knew existed and found a beautiful new park.
