Portraits of a music city

I know this city by the way we gather.

Hands on a record.

A voice finding its courage.

Four people leaning into a photograph,

bringing their own history into the same frame.

I see love here.

Love in the hours spent learning your craft.

Love in showing up for somebody else’s set.

In the brother who pushes you to come sharper,

the sister whose joy gives the whole room permission

to let go.

And yes, we compete.

Bring your best.

Make me bring mine.

Then stand beside me

when the round is done.

There is beauty in that exchange.

Respect with the rhythm.

Creativity giving creativity something to answer.

Through my lens, I hold onto these moments:

the concentration behind the decks,

the laughter spilling into the light,

the empowering portrait on  a porch,

where a person has room to simply be.

These artists give something of themselves

every time they create.

I want us to remember what that giving looks like.

This is Ottawa,

as I have come to know and love it.

Brotherhood. Sisterhood.

People making space,

passing knowledge,

building something the next generation can enter.

I photograph because time keeps moving,

and these moments deserve a place to live.

So somebody coming after us

can look at these images and feel it:

We were here.

We made something beautiful together.

Come through.

There is room for you.

David D. Pistol