Stop the Car

The afternoon I spotted this woman opening the mail, her kerchief and anklets beautiful teal blue mysteries, I got excited. So excited, I asked my friend to stop the car. I jumped out of the passenger's seat in order to photograph this ordinary gesture on an ordinary city street on an ordinary weekday afternoon.

Later, a friend asked me why I took this picture. What made you do that?

The question took me by surprise. I couldn't come up with a quick reply. This image is my answer.

Thanks to you, Miss G.

Escaping Words

What I want to say flies out of reach. The words are many but I can't seem to hold onto them. Will the page be saved or will it float away, never to be retrieved?

Two for Tuesdays

These blue sneakers bring back a memory from a summer past when I took a class on photographing the nude. One day a new model showed up. Shy, young, long blond hair, no clue what she'd gotten herself into.

Without her clothes on, she was a frozen, dreadful model. But one afternoon, I asked if I could take a picture of her cheerful blue Converse sneakers. It was obvious she was into them as a fashion statement. After all, she'd cuffed her jeans.

Finally, a photograph she could naturally pose for. Her relief felt palpable. And, at last, her personality came through the lens.

Trashy Truths

I enjoyed some summertime wandering at home the other night around 6 . Took the bus downtown. That was a first.

This image comes from one of my favorite buildings which has countless rooms that contain history, possibilities, and are rough around the edges. It's a monument to glamor in decline. I love this building the way people love their pets.

But there's a piece of trash - look - it's just to the left of mid-frame. I couldn't remove the paper or tape or whatever it was. There was a wide gulf of space separating the window from the sidewalk, and from me.

Somehow I don't want to change it with Photoshop either. I don't always like the poof and it's gone factor.

Fairy Good Stuff

In Australia they call cotton candy fairy floss, which, in my humble, is a better description.

Cheers to fairies, to short sleeve summer dresses, and to Melbourne, a place where part of me still lives.

Two for Tuesday: For Marissa

Talk about pairing up. The hair, the haircut, those pockets, the hip tilt, that way their upper arms lean and cross.

I watched these two during a Blues Festival at Grant Park in Chicago. Not once during the concert did they disconnect their bodies; they merely rearranged from time to time. During intermission, I overheard them speaking Spanish, but didn't understand anything other than this: they'd come a distance to hear Chicago style blues. (Totally worth it.)

The photograph is a shout out to my daughter (hello, Missy Miss). Tomorrow she travels to Colombia, heading back to Latin America, a place she knows well and loves more. She'll be traveling as a twosome. Wonder what they'll see along the way... Happy travels.

Getting Wet, Circa 1967

You ever notice how women enter a pool a little at a time? It's that gradual movement that gives the act its theatricality. Its moment.

On this morning, Rachel wore her suit she had since seventh grade and imagined Italy. I think she should pack the bathing suit in her luggage and wave Bon Voyage.

Am I crazy, or does this portrait look like a snapshot from 1967?