Lincoln Barbers

Everybody needs to get their hair cut. By April, I was well into the waiting room project, and began to look for these spaces, and the best photograph, rather than having the image come upon me. I took several shots of these chairs from different angles before deciding on this one. Lincoln Barbers is a no-frills place with cinder block walls and a concrete floor. Most of the barbers are young Latino men, many with tattooed necks and close-shaven heads. Three years ago, the haircuts were cheap, and you could get an old-fashioned hot towel shave for 15 bucks. My guy, Steven, was a polite 24-year old who gave me a great haircut. You can see him in the mirror with his back turned. I began going to Lincoln when I worked down the street the year before, and liked the experience so I continued to patronize them. I took Jake there a couple of times, and he hit it off with Steven, who was the same age. Jake wasn’t with me this day, it was just another haircut. I got to know Steven a little, he had overcome some adversity to get to where he was, and his dream was to open his own shop. He had plans to do so, and told me about them right after I took this shot. I have more to say about Steven in a later post, so stay tuned.