Today I was lucky enough to be in possession of a friend’s new fast and fancy Canon SLR and so I spent most of my time in the Market taking pictures instead of talking to people. I’m going to have to give the camera back soon, and wanted to stock up on pictures to use to illustrate these posts.

As I walked around, I realized that in addition to giving me an opportunity to take some really lovely photographs, the camera was also helping me see the Market through fresh eyes. As I’ve spent time in Reading Terminal over the last month, I’ve unconsciously established routines.  I come in and walk down the aisles in the same order each day, and my eyes fall on the same sights.  Having the camera in hand forced me to look up and down, to alter my customary patterns and to search out different places to stand in order to capture different perspectives.

When I first started this project, I mentioned it to a guy I know who lives out in Los Angeles these days, but who used to live in Philly about 15 years ago.  He said that he had always loved the peking duck at Sang Kee.  I replied back that I had never eaten there, and that I didn’t think it was there anymore.  Today, because I was seeing things through fresh eyes, I realized that Sang Kee was absolutely still there and that I had been blindly walking by it every day.  It was shocking to realize that I had been so unconscious and it made me wonder what else I was missing.

I haven’t tried the peking duck yet, but that’s coming any day now.  After all, it came highly recommended.