Photo Galleries / Wilbur, 2004-2009
In November of 2004 I met Wilbur while volunteering with Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco. What began as occasional lunches at Polk Street Station and light grocery shopping at Big Apple Discount Center turned into a five year friendship.
While initially guarded, Wilbur soon shared stories of past loves, losing his eyesight as a teenager, surviving a stabbing, his poetry, and navigating his way home after late nights in pre-Castro Polk Street gay life.
Over time as we became closer, I started leaving my camera at home, afraid that the sounds of the shutter may give Wilbur the impression that he was more of a subject than a friend. While I regret not capturing more personal moments, it’s comforting to know he didn’t experience them all alone.
