When I heard the High Museum of Art was celebrating its 100th anniversary with a block party on Peachtree Street, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get out and enjoy some street photography.

No assignments, no clients, and no expectations. Just an afternoon walking around Atlanta with my Canon R6 and a 35mm f/1.8 lens.

I deliberately left my other lenses behind. I wanted to challenge myself to work with a single focal length and pay more attention to composition. Without a zoom, I had to physically move closer or farther away, think about my surroundings, and be more intentional about what I included in the frame. Just like my good old days. 

But I also wanted to approach the day differently from how I normally approach professional assignments.

Not every photograph had to be perfectly sharp, beautifully composed, or even worth keeping.

Street photography is unpredictable. People move, moments disappear, and sometimes things don’t come together the way you imagined. Rather than worrying about getting everything right, I wanted to experiment, observe, and photograph whatever caught my attention.

With Peachtree Street closed to traffic and people gathered to celebrate the museum’s anniversary, there was plenty to see and photograph.

I wasn’t trying to document the entire event or come home with a particular number of images. I was simply enjoying the day.

Sometimes it’s good to put aside the expectations that come with being a professional photographer and remember what made you pick up a camera in the first place.

For me, that afternoon was about exactly that.