mary ellen . 72 years old / denver . colorado
while this might not be the most technically beautiful image that i have used for this project, the sincerity, both of her expression and of the environment, carries a fair amount of clout.
i had a number of things to do before nine o'clock this morning, one of them being finding and photographing today's stranger. i was out on the streets much earlier than usual, which, as i've mentioned before, opens up a number of backgrounds that are completely sun-covered later in the day.
i ended up walking up lincoln street towards downtown. an older woman holding a picketing sign caught my eye, so i walked towards her to see what she was advertising. as i came nearer, i saw another woman standing a bit further up the street. she looked very sweet and, noticing that her sign was promoting peace, i figured she would say yes and be glad for the chance to reach a few more people with her passion.
i introduced myself to mary ellen and told her what i was up to. she agreed to be today's stranger, so while she held her sign for passing traffic to see, i chatted with her for a moment or two. i liked her sign very much. i don't think it is necessary that i take an a-political stance as the representative of this project, so i am happy to agree completely with mary ellen and the others out there serving as reminders to us all that violence is not the answer. to anything.
they have been promoting peace since "before the war", mary ellen told me. i didn't ask what war she was referring to, but i am guessing it was one of those that i wasn't around for. she didn't have long to talk because she was on her way to her job (she's still working!) at a senior citizens' home. i asked her if those elderly people were keeping her young, but she replied with a bashful smile, "oh, i don't know."
the morning sun was just creeping around the dome of the capitol building enough so that it created too much hair light on mary ellen. she was standing on the sidewalk, so i asked her to step up into the grass, which didn't work. i asked her to take another step back, but was sad to have to make her move because she was out there with a purpose and i was taking her away from that.
after i fired off a few shots, she said, "you must have one good one out of all those." i told her i needed a few more as i scrambled to make something beautiful happen with that strong light blazing all of the detail from the top of her head.
i gave her my thanks and made my way back home to edit the photo before the rest of my day took an entirely different turn. i wish i could have taken more photographs and had more time with mary ellen. i'm struggling with not having any credibility. i can't convince people that this project is important. i don't have credentials. nothing to show. and i think the average stranger just thinks this project is cute. i need to come up with a greater plan.
anyway, mary ellen was an absolute sweetheart and i'm glad to have met her.
while this might not be the most technically beautiful image that i have used for this project, the sincerity, both of her expression and of the environment, carries a fair amount of clout.
i had a number of things to do before nine o'clock this morning, one of them being finding and photographing today's stranger. i was out on the streets much earlier than usual, which, as i've mentioned before, opens up a number of backgrounds that are completely sun-covered later in the day.
i ended up walking up lincoln street towards downtown. an older woman holding a picketing sign caught my eye, so i walked towards her to see what she was advertising. as i came nearer, i saw another woman standing a bit further up the street. she looked very sweet and, noticing that her sign was promoting peace, i figured she would say yes and be glad for the chance to reach a few more people with her passion.
i introduced myself to mary ellen and told her what i was up to. she agreed to be today's stranger, so while she held her sign for passing traffic to see, i chatted with her for a moment or two. i liked her sign very much. i don't think it is necessary that i take an a-political stance as the representative of this project, so i am happy to agree completely with mary ellen and the others out there serving as reminders to us all that violence is not the answer. to anything.
they have been promoting peace since "before the war", mary ellen told me. i didn't ask what war she was referring to, but i am guessing it was one of those that i wasn't around for. she didn't have long to talk because she was on her way to her job (she's still working!) at a senior citizens' home. i asked her if those elderly people were keeping her young, but she replied with a bashful smile, "oh, i don't know."
the morning sun was just creeping around the dome of the capitol building enough so that it created too much hair light on mary ellen. she was standing on the sidewalk, so i asked her to step up into the grass, which didn't work. i asked her to take another step back, but was sad to have to make her move because she was out there with a purpose and i was taking her away from that.
after i fired off a few shots, she said, "you must have one good one out of all those." i told her i needed a few more as i scrambled to make something beautiful happen with that strong light blazing all of the detail from the top of her head.
i gave her my thanks and made my way back home to edit the photo before the rest of my day took an entirely different turn. i wish i could have taken more photographs and had more time with mary ellen. i'm struggling with not having any credibility. i can't convince people that this project is important. i don't have credentials. nothing to show. and i think the average stranger just thinks this project is cute. i need to come up with a greater plan.
anyway, mary ellen was an absolute sweetheart and i'm glad to have met her.
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