Day Five: A Shot From Downtown

It's good to know that if you want a haircut for under $10 - but there's a chance you're a little too old to have mom cut it for you, and you're tired of having to shave your head after letting your roommates make their best ill-advised attempts with a set of clippers - there are still a few places you can visit...and soak up some atmosphere while you wait.

The Downtown Barber Shop on Mass St. in Lawrence is that type of place, and business was still hopping around 6pm (after the other barber shops had closed) when this picture was taken.
I like this picture for a couple of reasons. First of all, there is a lot of action taking place in a lot of different directions. In it you can the progression of the typical barber shop experience, from waiting with magazine in hand (far right) to having your name called (far left) to being in the chair and, ultimately, paying the dues for your new 'do.

Taking this picture also helped me overcome what has been a hurdle in the past: asking permission to "intrude" and photograph people. When I explained my project, nobody seemed to mind at all.....except one customer, after a flash temporarily blinded his barber and caused a near "clipper-slip." Oops.

Here is the Downtown Barber Shop from the outside sidewalk (looking down Massachusetts Street).

And here is the runner-up photo of the day - taken outside the Ingredient restaurant, this picture gives a different feel of downtown Lawrence.
What caught my eye intially were the light fixtures hanging inside - but instead of going in to take the picture, I took this one looking through the restaurant's large front windows, which ended up giving a view of the lightly populated inside as well as a reflected view of Mass St. (and the photographer, if you look closely enough) on the outside. I like the way this one turned out!