BELLTOWN PROFILE : THAT GUY WITH THE CAMERA AKA CHRIS JORDAN

When I am alone late at night on a street in Belltown, I am worried about life, limb, and the hulking man on the corner. But large hulking men who eye me with the interest a would-it-be-worth-it coyote eyes a too-small-bird with eye Chris Jordan and fade.

"Bleachers Pub " 1995

Into doorways. Into walls. Into the dark. They are gone.

"Checks Cashed" 1995

Chris is not a huge or scary guy. By day, he is a lawyer. After dark, he looks like any other guy who probably has a wallet worth knocking him down for. Or at least he looks that way to me. But not to local street predators.

"Bell & Second" 1999

"They think I'm a cop," he told me.

"Why's that?," I asked.

"Starbucks" 1995

"Because I spend so many late hours out here they can't figure out what else I would be doing on the street."

"Blockbusterr" 1998

Chris's nighttime exposures take hours. It's raining. It's cold. (Okay duh it's Seattle.) And very very late. Like 3 and 5 a.m. late. And there is Chris nursing a camera. He doesn't use filters. He doesn't use flashes.

"Fourth & Cedar" 2000

He doesn't use additional lighting or color alterations or enhancements.

"Grease Bin " 1994

He uses available light -- which at night takes a long time to get.

"Loading Dock" 1992

His personal mission is to "probe the visual cosmos of the city that is my home. And trust as long as I keep my mind open, the layers will keep unfolding. . . ."

I think he's pulling it off.

 

—Urban Angel