This idea has been floating around in my head for a couple months now and it’s about blinking time I kicked it off.

Taking a cue from the Andrew Sullivan playbook and his on-going “View From My Window” series, I wanted to test out the appetite for a new regular feature on DM.  Where Sullivan requests that viewers send in pictures of ordinary scenes taken out windows of their homes, I’m asking for you to submit photos of ordinary street scenes from your daily travails.  The ONLY qualifier is that it MUST include a street or sidewalk SOMEWHERE in the photograph.  (See my very ordinary example above.)

That means your picture could be anything from a fire truck screaming down Ponce, to a close-up of paw-prints in newly poured cement, to a serene pic of a neighborhood street during a stifling June heatwave.  The street/sidewalk doesn’t have to be the focal point, but it has to be there.  Somewhere.

The reasons for such a project are various.  Not only can views of everyday street scenes allow fellow readers to discover new parts of Decatur (and the surrounding area), but I believe that it would also provide a regular shot of reality into the virtual discussion that takes place here everyday, reminding us of the tactile places and relationships that tie us together.

We’ll try it out for a week or so and see how things go.  One photo will be chosen and posted each day.  If it proves popular enough, we can make it a regular thing.

To participate, send your photos to [email protected] and title the e-mail “Eye on the Street”.  Make sure to include the location of the picture in your email.  The larger the file size, the better. Also, by sending your photos, you grant DM full rights to publish and edit.

Let’s see what you got!

I took a few pics up at the Decatur Arts Festival today, but none were nearly as good as the ones Travis Hudgons passed along to me.  Enjoy!