The Man in the Window It was my junior year in high school. My love for black and white photography prompted me to take a photography course in which we were able to take photographs and develop them ourselves in a darkroom at the school. Our theme for the week was alleys. Where I lived at the time was Ft. Collins, Colorado which has a lot of history and old alleyways. It was perfect for me as I love taking photos of old run down houses and buildings. To think of the long history and what happened in each of these homes and businesses sent my mind whirling around the idea of spirits and other’s that may still lie at that very location. My friend and I began our hunt for the oldest of the old and began snapping pictures of random but eye catching scenery. It was our last alleyway before heading to lunch that day. At the side of the intersection of Prospect St and Remington St was an alley that almost tempted us to walk down it. There was an old rundown wooden rustic looking store. An iron post hung from the side hence the conclusion that it was a store in historic times. I took several photographs from several different angles as to get the best possible image to portray the eeriness of the image that lie before us. We continued on after lunch with a few more alleys and other good finds. But that alley stuck with me and the excitement to develop that roll of negatives gained throughout the week. The day came to enter into the darkroom and place my negatives into the enlarger. I gathered my grain enlarger and emulsion paper. I slid my negative into the enlarger and focused it. As I was focusing the negative something stood out so I enlarged a tad a bit more, something in the window to the left, I wanted to get it larger so that I could make out what it was. I had my doubts at first and decided to wait until the entire developing process was complete. I set my timer and boom. The picture is on the paper ready to be developed. I agitated that paper with my tongs into the developer solution and the picture appeared. I wanted a darker contrast as I like that look a bit better than a light contrast. I placed my photo into the stopper to end the chemical processing of the photo. I then placed my photo into the fixer to remove any unexposed crystals that may have been left. Ending the developing process with a hypo-clear solution to be sure no drying marks were visible for a perfect picture. I took my photo out and pinned it up to allow it to dry appropriately. Overnight is usually best. I came in the following day to look over my photo and there the man in the window was. A ghostly figure with a white collared shirt, the collar down with both ends of the collar very clear showing on crevices of his shoulders, one button showing on the top, the man’s mouth open, and what looked like a hat on his head. When I took that photo, no one was in that window nor in that rundown store. We shared our photography with the class that day. My classmates were shocked at the fact that I may possibly have captured a spirit, perhaps the owner of that historical store in that eerie old rundown alleyway. My teacher was skeptical, expressing the fact that it may have been a reflection from a building across the alley or even a reflection of a leaf of a tree. His doubts proved untrue; there was no building across the alley. There was a tree, but looking at that figure in that window, it was not a leaf. I being a believer that spirits are all around us was sure that that was what it was. I left it alone with my teacher as to not cause any type of disruption but my classmates could not stop talking about it and wanting to look at it. By the following day, many people were asking to see the photo and many were in disbelief as it was the first time any of us have ever seen an image of sort in our lives or at least taken by a reputable or known person. Each of them pointed at the shirt, the mouth, the eyes, and the hat. They even wanted to go to the alley to visit the historical landmark of the man in the window. I gave the location and it gave way to the fact that there was no other explanation other than the one conclusion I came up with. It was in fact a ghost. Till this day, I think about this photo, all the hype that it brought, and the fact that it turned non-believers into believers for that very moment if not a lifetime. Walking by old building’s always gives me chills and gives me that urge to take a photo. I like to think that it does so to all the other’s that saw this image as well. The fact that we may not be alone in this world at any given moment is a real thought to wrap your mind around. Is it scary, perhaps, but it also has this kind of ease of mind that maybe, just maybe, we never truly lose our loved one’s completely.