A well dressed, middle aged man is sitting lotus-style in the middle of the sidewalk at the intersection of 4th Avenue and 13th Street. His backpack and jacket are placed carefully by his side, and he’s positioned facing east, eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the bicycle and pedestrian traffic flowing around him. I continue on, and as I’m crossing 13th street I notice a man with a large camera crossing in the other direction; he seems to have noticed the meditating man and is making a B-line toward him. ‘That photographer is sure in the right place at the right time,’ I think to myself. A few meters further on my curiosity gets the better of me and turn back to look: the photographer is standing a few meters away from the meditating man, but his camera is pointed not at the man but at the series of nondescript storefronts across 4th avenue.