This week in New Media we were tasked with hitting the streets of Capitol Hill to interview and photograph strangers. Capitol Hill is a bustling neighborhood that nestles up to downtown Seattle, since people are usually in a hurry we wanted to keep our interview questions concise and respectful to the people we were interrupting. How long have you lived here / where are you from? Describe Capitol Hill in one word. What is your favorite thing about the Hill? What’s your least favorite thing about the Hill?
Melody and I interviewed four people, going about their daily business on Friday October 23rd shortly after 10AM–they were all on their way to or from somewhere, and one had just been rear ended, but more on that later.
The first person we talked to was Brandon, he was soft spoken and kind, and was waiting for a westbound bus on Pine and Broadway. He was at ease with being photographed and we finished the interview right as his bus pulled up.
Brandon Lived in Seattle 4-5 years One word: Busy Favorite thing: Busy Least favorite: All the crazy people
Across the street heading eastbound on Pine was Lance, who had just missed his bus. Lance works and lives on the hill, and he didn’t seem to concerned about being late. He wasn’t as easy going as our first interviewee, he had a slight stiffness about him, but he was willing to chat a little and answer our questions while he waited for the next bus.
Lance Lived in Seattle since 1992, from San Francisco One word: Different Favorite thing: Close to work Least favorite: Crowded
Down Pine a couple blocks outside one of those new large construction sites we met Dean, a former teacher and current self employed contractor, who was more than willing to be interviewed. The first thing he did was find a place for us to sit and chat. Dean surprised us in a lot of ways, including his humor and openness. He was a dream to interview and photograph. At the end of the interview he pointed out his “beat up van” and told us that a woman had just rear ended him while trying to parallel park, she was running late for class and panicking, but he just let her go without a second thought.
Dean
Lived in Renton for 40 years but hasn’t frequented the Hill.
One word: Dean had trouble answering in one word — he described the hill as a little community, explained that he had heard lots of things about the Hill, particularly that it’s, “full of gays and people with colored hair,” but that he loves that and he even thinks he could enjoy living here for a year. He noted that compared to Renton, there “are a lot of skinny people here…” Favorite thing:Diversity Least favorite:Traffic
BONUS personal credo: never takes orders from anyone, except god, who is a woman
At a westbound bus stop on Pine, Seabron was dressed in a personal trainer jacket, we needed him to spell his name for us and he explained that it’s British with a knowing look.
Seabron
Lived in Seattle for 5 years One word: Different Favorite thing: Extremely diverse Least favorite: Expensive
We'd like to note the lack of women represented in this population sample -- we've speculated as to the reason there were so few women waiting for transportation or available to participate but couldn't reach a definitive conclusion.