We had a fire drill where I worked and as we all gathered in this little outdoor area I was up close to a woman I hadn’t met before. I introduced myself and she told me where she worked in the building. I noticed when she was gesturing that she had this great scar on her arm. I had my camera with me and asked her if I could take some photos of her eyes and her scar for a collage. She was very excited about the idea, much more so than most people and graciously allowed me to do so. I am sure any number of people around me were wondering what the heck we were doing.
She later saw the collage and loved it, purchasing 2 prints to have framed and given to her family. She had grown up hating the scar but in recent years had come to see it as a good part of her body and life. The collage was a sort of confirmation of that she thought.
I had to drive my father’s belongings back to California from Oklahoma in the fall of 2007. I kept my camera next to me in the rented moving truck and took a lot of photos out the window as I went. The Texas panhandle is one of my favorite areas precisely because there is so little to see there. What that actually means is that the interesting things you do see are spread out, they are alone, by themselves, easy to spot and appreciate.
Sometimes in dense environments, just as in a dense piece of art, it is hard to discern what is there. That is ok in a museum where you have time to look, but on a road trip it is nice to see something coming 2 miles away!
I stopped at a convenience store outside Amarillo and the clerk’s eyes were blindingly bright and blue with the west Texas sun shining in the window. I asked her if I could take some photos of her eyes and, though she was chided by her fellow clerk, she said yes and was a wonderful, albeit fleeting, model.
We were in an outdoor outlet mall in Napa. We were in an antique store, all filled with browns and golds and muted tones when through the window I noticed this pair of bright yellow vests floating against a wall. They were bathed in bright, bright sunlight and the color was so glaring compared to all the rest I just had to go take some photos.
I told them I would donate some money to their cause if they would let me take some photographs of them and they agreed. Just moments before I had passed the two cypress trees and loved their ‘symmetry / asymmetry’ against such a stark background. Once I got home and went through the photos I kept seeing these two girls with the two trees and so worked the images up to have that happen.
I went into a jewelry store in Tulsa looking for something specific for my wife. I didn’t find it but had a great salesperson help me. She was informative and thoughtful. The whole front of the store was facing south with big windows and it was winter time so the sun was streaming in. It bounced off the floor and glass cases and landed on her in a wonderful way. I asked her if I could take some photos of her and she obliged me.
I did a collage and showed it to her a few days later. She was upset about how it looked, thinking I had made her look rather ugly. I didn’t think it did, but I didn’t post it out of respect for her discomfort. I did this one later, working with less manipulation and distortion and I think she was happier with it.
I love this piece because of how I got the hair and the line of her face to match up. She is the same top to bottom but then a second look obviously shows something isn’t as it should be. Just a bit of a skewed perspective on the portrait.
My wife and I were on the ferry from San Francisco to Sausalito. She had always wanted to go on it and never got around to it when she lived in the city. It was a very beautiful fall day, clear and warmer than one can ever hope for in San Francisco.
The woman was at the bow of the boat with her boyfriend speaking German. She seemed deep in thought looking out over the bay, the shore, not saying much, just thinking. She watched as a lone pine tree outlined itself against the sky as our ferry docked for a quick stop on Angel Island. Then she sat down facing the sun and leaned her head back to soak up the rays. I kept wondering what ideas and dreams were running through her mind (even if it was in German).
Later she stood and talked to her friend, and I noticed the really bright red stripe across her midriff, I think it was underwear, but I wasn’t sure. I loved how it stood out and snapped a couple of photos.
