As a full-time pedestrian in New York, however, I can now safely observe cars without the pain that comes with relying on them. Much more pleasant this way.

With an exhibit on New York’s relationship to cars running at the Museum of the City of New York, I thought I’d share some of the photos I’ve taken of cars in the city. (Notice I’m not in any of them.)

I translate what I see into question marks more often than anything else. And though I’d sometimes like captions to accompany every image, I also like going through my day just a little bit confused.

Below are some images that have left me wondering.

We’ll start with a rap team I saw giving a free concert on the street.

(Also see part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 of this week’s series)

One of the principal sources of that noise is the impatient driver who has to sit in a long line of cars through an entire red-to-green-to-yellow-to red cycle.

When I glance at the traffic lights and listen to the cacophony around me, I sometimes construct a sequence of thoughts and actions for these drivers. In part 4 of my series on visual shorthand (also see: part 1, part 2, part 3), a look at what I imagine these drivers doing while they sit in traffic.

More specifically, I want to take a look at what people wear in public when it gets warm — and how I translate those images into words to form my visual shorthand.

For some, the hat isn’t much of a choice at all — it comes with the job. For others, it simply comes with the job of being stylish.

In the end, though, my visual shorthand comes up with a single word in both cases.