By now we all know I take pictures of trucks and equipment that the majority of people simply don’t care about or even notice. I’ve received puzzled looks from passerby’s as I shoot video of road construction or snow plowing but usually the most confused looks come from the operators of these vehicles. I really don’t blame them. In this modern age there is always someone looking to catch “lazy” government workers or document something unsafe or dangerous for a future lawsuit. I try to be discrete when I take my photos and keep any faces out of the shots whenever possible. Most of the time my work goes unnoticed while other times I get caught in the act. At most I get a head nod and wave. At worst the stare of confusion.
I’ve had my eye out for a city garbage truck for awhile now. They have a sizable fleet of International 2674’s(?) that are growing older by the minute so I’ve been eager to document one. By using the word document it makes my hobby seem as a civic service. It’s all about the wording. Living just outside of the city so I usually don’t cross paths with these rigs so I knew fortune was smiling on me when I caught one the other day during my lunch time walk. I grabbed my camera, waited for the truck to enter the frame, took a shot, waited for it to show on the screen and then looked up to watch the truck grind down the street. To my pleasant surprise I was greeted with the smiling face, waving, thumbs uping worker you see below. I waved back and then the interaction was over but it made my afternoon. I don’t know anything about the guy but I assume he enjoys his job and was happy to see someone take notice of him and his truck for other than the dirty stinking mess it is.
Trash on Mr. Garbage Truck man. Trash on.