28 february, 2009

amos . 28 years old  /  fort collins . colorado

i went up to fort collins with some friends to take a tour of the new belgium brewery. while we were waiting for a place to sit, i decided to step outside and photograph today's stranger.

i saw this guy in a "i heart dirt" sweatshirt and a cool cowboy hat walking with his friend towards the entrance. i caught his eye and then walked up to him with my project pitch.

he was happy to be a part of the project. he really thought it was cool. that is so refreshing. he had a great personality - very warm. he smiled and laughed a lot... seemed like a really great guy to hang out with.

he's a stone mason by trade, but knits hats (he's wearing his latest creation) and does some river guiding work. he lives "up in the mountains" and i can only imagine that that is awesome. i could have spent a lot more time talking with him, but a lot more time wasn't to be had, so we parted ways after a few minutes.

i'm glad i had the chance to meet amos england. i think only people with names like amos england can get away with wearing "i heart dirt" sweatshirts.

27 february, 2009

ed . 58 years old  /  denver . colorado

i saw ed making his way up 13th street in my direction. he made it passed the gauntlet of greenpeace proponents and then had to deal with me.

he looked pretty great in his long coat and ray ban's so i gave him my pitch and he grinned a little bit and said "i'm pretty strange", so i figured i had him.

he agreed to it, but seemed wary - like he expected my band of thugs to come out from the nearest alley and take him for all he's worth. after he assessed the situation, though, he seemed to lighten up a bit.

i shot a few frames and had him put his shades back on. i think he enjoyed being a model for a few minutes. by the end of it, i think he was a believer.

26 february, 2009

angela . 26 years old  /  denver . colorado

so... this a good one.

i went out at around 3.00 to do two things: one, find the ogden theatre to try to score tickets to see andrew bird and two, photograph a stranger. it turns out that the theatre is just a few blocks away from my place, so it didn't take me long to get there.

i walked up to the facade and started reading the concert listings and was about to get into "find tickets to a sold out show" mode, when angela asked me if i was from here. i said no.. i had just moved here... blah blah blah. she was looking for office depot and i was of absolutely no use to her. i told her i was trying to scrounge up some tickets for the show tonight. we chatted for a second and then i told her about my project.

she agreed to be today's stranger, so we ducked around the corner to find some shade and i came across this spectacular red door. while we were getting ready to shoot, she asked me if i would be interested in having her spare ticket to the show. pause... what? would i be interested? yes, of course, but...

but... i was looking for two tickets to the show because i was supposed to go with another recent friend that i met at the last show. i told her i wouldn't be able to accept the one ticket because it would leave my other friend high and dry and i thought that would be pretty bad style. then... the questions came... why did she have an extra ticket? well, she had an extra ticket because she was on tour with andrew bird. oh. right. wait! what? yes, on tour with andrew bird, selling merchandise for the band.

so... i took a few deep breaths and took some pictures - which turned out great, if you ask me. coming through the red door were the beautiful notes of andrew bird's violin as he was doing a sound check for the show. so that was fun. then, after wrapping that up, started chatting some more and offered to go on the office depot hunt with her. she accepted my offer, but said she needed to take care of something inside first... and then asked if i'd like to come in for a minute to listen to the sound check.

...

...

yes. most definitely, yes. so... i stood in the auditorium, empty save for a few technicians and other band-related people, with my jaw dragging on the floor, listening and watching the preparations of what was sure to be a spectacular performance.

after some time, maybe 20 or 30 minutes, angela retrieved me and we headed out to find office depot. i was reeling. reeling, i tell you. it gets better.

...angela told me she could probably get me a +1 on my ticket. yeah... pretty big deal. problem solved. so... there you have it. the stranger of today is angela. she tours with andrew bird. she took me under her wing, gave me tickets to a sold out show (perhaps the best i've ever seen), introduced me to another of her denver friends (whose playing a show tomorrow night) and hung out with me after the show before the bus left town. i guess this is the most peculiar of stranger interactions so far - not that the other 171 haven't been interesting, too...

every day i'm impressed at timing. a few seconds later, i wouldn't meet these people, and i'd have an entirely different story to tell.

25 february, 2009

elisabeth . 21 years old  /  denver . colorado

i was on a mission to shoot a woman today. i know i have written that before, but i have to make it a priority or i won't do it. i haven't yet figured it out, but i have an easier time photographing men. their faces generally have more character because they don't spend time covering it up - unless they are growing a beard, because that takes time, but then, the beard is interesting, too. anyway, back to women...

two of them turned me down today. one of them was late for work, but she did have the courtesy to point out another "stranger" on the street. oddly enough, when i looked at who she was pointing at, he wasn't a stranger. he was the guy that fixed my table in my kitchen. so... i kept walking.

it was gorgeous in denver today. t-shirt weather. i love t-shirt weather. a lot of people were out, but they were in the sun and i stay away from the sun with my camera. they aren't friends. after making a loop around a couple of blocks, i saw a woman rummaging around in her trunk. i asked her. she said no. then, i turned around and saw elisabeth preparing to lock her bike.

i told her about the project and she went for it. she also wasn't in a rush, so that took some pressure off me. i photographed her against a couple of different backgrounds and even took some shots with her bike, but this is the strongest photo, so it will stand alone today.

it was windy today, so we both were battling our hair. elisabeth is better at dealing with windy hair than i am, i guess. hers still looks good, while mine looks like a mop (after it has been used to clean the floor).

i thought maybe she was a bike messenger because she had a pretty sweet bike and a messenger bag, but i was wrong. maybe i just hoped she was because i am about to begin another project involving... well... bike messengers.

when i was done photographing, elisabeth asked me what made me think of doing this project. i answered quickly, "a mild depression", and i guess that is just about it. in september i was feeling pretty miserable. she asked if i was feeling better, and i said that i was.

24 february, 2009

mark . 19 years old  /  denver . colorado

i waited a bit longer than usual to go out looking today's stranger. the sun going down later is very liberating. i headed up the street from my apartment and didn't even get one block away before i saw mark and his buddy standing outside of "benny blanco's" pizza shop.

i trotted across the street and went straight for the kill. i told the guys about the project and mark agreed immediately. i gave him a few seconds to finish his pizza and then fired away.

the two guys looked like they were enjoying the beautiful denver day. we didn't get very far with conversation, but the little we did have was good. mark seemed like a pretty cool dude and seemed pretty interested in being today's stranger.

23 february, 2009

marquise . 39 years old  /  denver . colorado

i went for a stroll through downtown denver this morning. while i was looking for a bank, i came across marquise. i think i am still behind on the number of women for the project, so i was not really looking for a man today, but his look was so great that i couldn't help myself.

we talked briefly about the project and then i photographed him against a wall we were standing just beside. he passed along some information about other photographers working on projects and gave me a link to his own website. check it out - www.transparenci.com

22 february, 2009

kristen . 25 years old  /  denver . colorado

i moved into my new apartment today! after rummaging through some belongings and trying to get a handle on my new life to come, i decided to head out into the new neighborhood to meet a stranger.

i gathered my gear and prepared my business cards, notebook, and camera and made my downstairs. as i stepped outside i saw kristen enjoying a cigarette.

i asked her if she lived in the building and after we established the fact that we were neighbors, we chatted for a while. it took me quite some time to realize that she was a stranger, but it eventually did come to me. i told her about the project and asked if she would participate.

so, this stranger is my neighbor, and that is the first time during the project that it has happened like that. kristen is new to denver, too - hailing from omaha, nebraska.

21 february, 2009

keenan . 25 years old  /  denver . colorado

i went to goodwill with my friend to pick up a chair that i had purchased earlier. we've been shopping around to furnish my new apartment and been having great luck finding some great stuff.

keenan was one of the guys that helped bring the chair out to us. we had already thanked them and were already heading towards the car, when it dawned on me that keenan was pretty cool. so i asked him to be today's stranger. he was happy to oblige. to get him out of the sun, i asked him to step behind the dumpster and the pallets and cardboard just happened to make great elements for the second shot.

20 february, 2009

linda . 60 years old  /  cheyenne . wyoming

i stayed in cheyenne last night. i hadn't planned on it, but as i made my way across south dakota i realized there weren't many other places to stop. it was a super long day, but i caught the scent of home so felt like pushing on.

i ended up crossing into wyoming just before sunset. i was already pretty tired from a long day of exploring the badlands, visiting an infamous drug store, and driving and driving and driving, but the last hours of daylight on the open prairies were incredibly refreshing. there was so little traffic, so i was able to enjoy the open road and admire the low, raking light as it swept across the highway and the miles of fence posts and the grazing cattle and always alert deer - giving every object it touched a seemingly endless shadow.

darkness fell as i made my way south down interstate 25 towards cheyenne and the beauty of the sunset was almost matched by the brilliance of the stars. it was a sensational evening.

i put myself up in the trashiest motel room $29 can buy and then took a gander around the town. i'm not even going to pretend that cheyenne is cool. to each his own, but it was not my favorite stop on this trip.

i got up this morning and grabbed a breakfast bagel at a shop neighboring starbucks. while i was eating, a guy came in who would have been great to photograph. he had tattoos on his head and a huge beard and gauges in his ears. but... he said no. so i headed towards starbucks and saw linda walking towards the entrance.

she was so bubbly and friendly and agreed immediately. i asked if she was always so happy and she said that today in particular she was happy because it was friday. well... good enough for me... happy people are refreshing to meet.

19 february, 2009

julie . 29 years old  /  badlands national park . south dakota

yeah. the badlands. let it soak in.

if you've never been, go. seriously.

i stayed in kadoka, south dakota, the night before and then got up early to drive 20 minutes west to the badlands entrance. i could see them from a few miles away and was getting excited to get into the park.

i pulled into the first parking area, grabbed my camera and then set out on a wooden-planked path into the park. a friend of mine is currently in china, so i called him up to share the experience with him. it was cold and windy so i was bundled up with the phone to my ear, taking in the solitary expanse in front of me. this was just about the last place i anticipated running into a stranger.

this girl walked down the path and then out into the badlands. she waved on her way by and left me wondering if i would see her again. i figured photographing someone out here would be just perfect.

after hanging up, i headed down the trail, hoping to see her again. i didn't make it far before i saw her heading back towards the beginning of the trail. as she approached, i said hello and told her about the project. she agreed to be a part of it and we walked back towards the cars together so that i could get my notebook and business cards.

it turns out that julie is a "local". she runs a cattle ranch with her sister in a town called interior about a mile from where we were. she answered all of my questions, but did so with reservation. i think she was too polite to tell me to shut-up.

18 february, 2009

joey . 20 years old  /  sioux falls . south dakota

what a day! seriously, this was a big one. i drove from minneapolis this morning intending to put a decent number of south dakota miles behind me.

i intended to stop in sioux falls, but accidentally drove by it. the next exit was quite a few miles down interstate 90, so i continued on. i desperately needed gas, so i was relieved to find out that it was available at the next "town". just beside an ultra-touristy cowboy town, i discovered a filling station. i topped my car off and then headed towards the store to pay, but i tried this door and then another and neither worked. the place looked deserted, but i figured it had to be open because the pump worked.

after stumbling around the property in the extreme cold, i finally heard a rap on the window. when i looked up, i saw a hand pointing towards one of the doors i had just tried, but, magically, it worked this time.

i needed to photograph today's stranger and figured it wasn't going to happen out on the open road and it was starting to dawn on me that it wasn't going to happen out in cowboy land, either. but then... i walked into the store and saw the guy working inside and decided that i had been gifted with the perfect stranger - he was quite a character.

i asked him to be today's new friend and he agreed at first. but almost immediately after he said yes, he asked me why it would take a couple of minutes. after he found out that i would be taking several pictures he decided to decline and the proceeded to tell me that he even tries to dodge family pictures on christmas.

so, i hightailed it out of the middle of nowhere on a course back towards sioux falls. i followed signs for "downtown" and parked my car. a meter-maid had just walked by, so i asked her where i could find a café and she pointed me towards michelle's.

joey stepped outside to feed his meter just as i approached the coffee shop. i told him about my project and he immediately agreed to be a part of it. we crossed the street to find some shade and fired off a few shots.

so, everyone, meet joey. he's currently saving money so that he can attend school to become a civil engineer. he's a sioux falls native and didn't seem all that excited about that particular fact.

17 february, 2009

roger . 47 years old  /  blaine . minnesota

i'm up in minnesota visiting my former philosophy professor. he and his family moved up this way a few years ago, so i figured on my journey west, i would pay a visit to this part of the country. i've never been to minnesota before, so i am enjoying this new experience.

i went with my professor and his two children to a massive indoor ice skating rink. just the mention of ice skating makes me remember that when i was in high school i decided i would become a hockey player. my mom and i picked up some gear and i went out to our lake to start perfecting my game. it didn't take too long for me to tire of it. i guess it was the fact that i was doing it alone and the lake was so quiet - it all felt so desolate. i problem fell too many times for comfort, too. i sold my skates shortly after and gave up the dream of becoming a hockey pro. i guess that was my last time on skates. i didn't feel compelled to start it up again today, but i did watch the others skate and i have to admit that it did look like fun.

i took a stroll around the complex and eventually made my way outside. i had asked roger where the restroom was a few minutes prior, then he ended up coming outside, too. i didn't know how many other opportunities i would have to meet strangers today, so i asked him to be today's.

16 february, 2009

darcy . 23 years old  / roscoe . illinois

with more long hours on the road ahead of me, i felt nervous about getting my shot today. after driving for about an hour, i stopped to get some gas at "love's" filling station.

the car that pulled into the station in front of me stopped at the first of two available pumps instead of pulling ahead to last. i sat behind the car for a minute or two, waiting for the driver to pull ahead, but they didn't do that. so, i drove ahead and then backed my car into position to fill up at the pump in front of them.

i thought it might be funny to photograph the person who didn't have gas station etiquette, so i asked darcy (the driver) if she would be today's stranger. in asking her i left out the part about her driving, though.

she told me she used to photograph for a portrait studio in roscoe. she said she loved it, but gave it up for a job that paid better - in her case that happened to be tending bar.

it was a relief that darcy said yes. my last big day on the road didn't go so well. getting the shots "out of the way" helped me relax a bit for the rest of the drive.

15 february, 2009

brandye . 14 years old  /  naperville . illinois

i was out for a walk with my dear friend and old roommate. we were out specifically to find today's stranger, but we had to wait for quite a while. i found a location to shoot in and then let many people pass by because i just wasn't "feeling it".

it was pretty cold and i didn't drink any coffee today, so i was losing my thunder pretty quickly. the longer i wait, the more nervous i get, so today was proving to be quite a challenge.

i eventually saw brandye walking towards us from quite a ways down the street. when they came a bit closer, i approached brandye and her friend and told them about the project. she was happy to be a part of it and quite easy to photograph.

i was pretty worried to photograph her because of her age, but considering how these photographs are being used, i would hope people won't have much of a problem with it.

fingers crossed.

14 february, 2009

john . 53 years old  /  geneva . illinois

valentine's day is not my favorite holiday. maybe that is why i was drawn to a solitary man walking down the street when nearly everyone else was with another someone.

it took a while to find someone today. i was out with my old roommate, scanning the streets for innocent strangers. i asked a woman, but she said no on account of being "lost" and "busy". oh well.

then i saw john walking towards us. he was super cool about it. slightly intrigued. comfortable with himself. seemed to be very patient and kind. a great subject - look at that face!

13 february, 2009

lauren . 23 years old  /  louisville . kentucky

this was an "all business" shot. i stayed with a friend in louisville for a night. he took me to coffee this morning and then i was getting on the road to head to the chicago area. i didn't want to take another gas station photograph, so i had this small window to meet a stranger.

just as we approached the café, lauren started walking towards us. i went for it and she went for it and the rest is history. the wall behind her is a mural of a baker... in case you were wondering.

12 february, 2009

patrick . 20 years old  /  lexington . kentucky

this was my last day in lexington. i scheduled a meeting with an old friend / professor at a café and arrived early to look for a stranger.

there were quite a few people around, but none of them were where i wanted them to be. i eventually made my way over to where there was some more frequent traffic and spotted patrick.

he was sporting bob dylan style sunglasses and i am always drawn to those. i approached him on the sidewalk and he very energetically agreed to be a part of the project. but then when i photographed him, he became very docile. as soon as i finished up, his energy came back. i thought it was very interesting. i wish i had had more time to get to know patrick better, but road trips, meetings, and classes tend to get in the way.

11 february, 2009

drake . 22 years old  /  wilmore . kentucky

because i decided i needed to do a little reminiscing, i was walking around the campus of my alma mater again.

for some extra flavor, i decided to head up to my old room (#116 on johnson 3rd west) to introduce myself to its current occupant. i knocked on the door, but got no response. some guys were in the room across the hall and they encouraged me to just poke my head in there. when i did, i saw drake sitting in a chair, watching some soccer.

i introduced myself and told him i used to live there. it turns out that drake actually lives off campus and has just been hanging out in his buddy's room for a while. but that wasn't going to stop me, so i asked him if he would be up for being part of my project and he was all for it.

i had a great time talking with him for a few minutes. we discovered that we know quite a few of the same people, which made a cool meeting that much cooler. i'd say this was a pretty good ending to my alma mater visit.

10 february, 2009

tani . 18 years old  /  wilmore . kentucky

this was my first day back at asbury college since i graduated in 2004. it met me with rain and lots of it. the campus was completely dead, due either to the entire student body being in class or the downpour.

i saw tani walk down a path into the college post office. i thought of asking her then, but didn't. then i stood in the rain for a while longer, looking around an empty campus, hoping to find some willing soul. but, eventually she came back out of the post office, so i asked her.

i think she thought the whole thing was pretty weird, but she was a good sport. she was wet and cold from the rain, so it didn't take long to wrap things up today.

09 february, 2009

john . 19 years old  /  lexington . kentucky

i walked around the university of kentucky campus with a dear friend. it was another gorgeous day and the campus was buzzing with college students.

it didn't take long to come up to a good background and meeting john followed shortly after. he agreed to be today's stranger, but he did it dutifully, like a cow going to the slaughter. i felt bad, but persevered, and by the end of it - when there was no slaughter - i think john was intrigued.

08 february, 2009

sara . 20 years old  /  flatwoods . west virginia

this was a rough day for the project. i had to drive from pennsylvania to kentucky, which is not just a hop, skip, and a jump. driving all that way is job enough, but finding a stranger proved to be extra hard today.

i stopped somewhere for gas and asked a woman. she said no on account of having her baby in the car. at the same place, i asked a guy with a really bizarre hawaiian shirt. he said no. i needed to get back on the road, so i left.

as the day wore on, i started feeling my "i don't have a stranger yet" stress, which renders me just about useless for anything else. so i stopped in flatwoods. incidentally, i don't recommend anyone stop in flatwoods. i went up to a huge pick-up truck with windows so darkly tinted that they were opaque and stood there until the driver rolled his window down. i asked he and the passenger if they'd be up for it. they both said no. that brings us to a four count. hearing "no" four times is discouraging. very.

i went into a gas station to get some coffee and then anxiously waited by my car for people to need gas and hopefully need snacks. the pay at the pump keeps people out of the store. i was between the pumps and the store and the store was all windows, so i figured the cashier would have had a fit if i started going up to people at the pumps.

anyway... sara eventually walked by. she agreed to be photographed, but i don't think she said anything.

07 february, 2009

marsha . 66 years old  /  wayne . pennsylvania

i met up with a new friend who wanted to to walk around with me while i looked for strangers. the weather in wayne was absolutely gorgeous. the sunshine and the company made for a great day.

i found a couple of different locations i wanted to photograph in, but there weren't many people walking by them. i found an alley that was just perfect. i was ready to set up camp there and wait as long as it took, but someone's car alarm started going off right in front of us and it got to be a little much.

we made our way towards a bookstore that had a lot of different quotes pasted to the window. after reading them, i figured it would make for a good background. i also figured that bookstore people were interesting.

not long after, marsha came out of the store. i went up to her and started chatting about the project. i think she looked more skeptical than any other person i've asked so far. after a bit of talking she eventually went for it, but very timidly.

marsha doesn't have internet access, so i asked for her real address so i could send her the pictures. after being so skeptical, she didn't have a problem doing that. i'd say that is pretty quick progress.

she talked to me for a long time. she shared stories of staying in london and paris and that wonderful feeling that accompanies being there. she talked of gardening and music and even stress. we hit it off like old friends.

marsha told me she couldn't muster up a good smile anymore. she used to have a great on demand smile, but she's lost it. i asked her if something was wrong and she told me she's been having a rough time lately. i wish i could have been more of a help to her, but all i could say was that her eyes were smiling.

she was so kind. so soft spoken. so emotional. i wish i could have talked to her all day. she didn't like being photographed, though, so she talked the entire time. i liked the talking, but it doesn't make for flattering photography. ahh well... i'll take good conversation and decent photos over no conversation and great photos any day.

06 february, 2009

brandon . 20 years old  /  wayne . pennsylvania

i headed up towards the gryphon café because word on the street said it was a great place to hang out. and i figured it might be where i'd meet some great people.

the gryphon is just beside the anthony wayne movie theatre, which had a nice marble wall that i wanted to use for my background. i stood in the sun for a while, waiting for people to walk by. i was hoping to shoot a woman today, because the men's side is getting weighty again. a woman came out of the theatre and walked right by me. i was able to say, "excuse me, ma'am, i am a photographer and i'm" before she oh so terribly rudely interrupted me with a very direct "NO!".

that irritated me. a lot.

as i was standing there contemplating people and their shortcomings and eventually me and my own shortcomings, i saw brandon coming my way.

his hair was a bit disheveled and his skater shoes were untied. he was puffing on a cigarette and didn't look to be in much of a hurry. as he got closer to me, i told him about my project and he immediately agreed to be today's stranger.

i was amazed by his eyes. they are so big. he had such a pleasant stare. i think every shot i took of him would have worked for today, but i didn't want to stop. i did, though, because not stopping would have been weird. and pointless.

after i finished shooting, brandon asked me a bunch of questions about the project. i gave him some of the usual answers, but it turned out that he was more interested than usual, so i started to give him the more in depth responses.

i shared with him that i hoped the project would eventually be a bit more personal. that i was interested in at as an anthropological study and not just for the photographs. i told him that i hoped to eventually be able to spend an hour each day with the stranger and learn a bit more about them... and things like that. and then, he took me up on it.

he offered to meet me after he got out of work, but unfortunately, the time wasn't going to work. so, right there on the street, he started telling me about himself. i'm not exactly sure how to record and pass on this kind of information... so for now, i am going to keep most of it to myself.

brandon got me thinking, though. and this turned out to be one of the better days of the project. thank you, brandon.

05 february, 2009

ron . 40 years old  /  milford . connecticut

i pulled off instertate 95 to get some gas. after filling up, i went into the convenience store to freshen up. i brought my camera with me in case i saw someone interesting, but was doubtful it was going to happen here.

i stepped outside and saw ron sitting in his truck. there was a german short haired pointer sitting beside him and it looked they were both waiting for someone else. i said goodbye to sawyer (my dog) earlier this morning, so felt a connection to ron.

it was so cold outside, but ron looked like he could handle it, so i went over to his truck and told him what i was up to. he had a great sense of humor about him - he had one of those "why the hell not?" reactions. i like that.

he looked into my camera with that pleasant face the whole time i took pictures. he made it super easy for me.

i'm not sure i have ever been to milford, connecticut, before today. i guess i'll have quite a few of these random town portraits as i travel west over the next couple of weeks.

04 february, 2009

steve . 50 years old  /  gill . massachusetts

i am out in western massachusetts to visit my dog, sawyer, who has taken up residence with my former photography instructor, paul. this is also home to my former photography school, so i am getting some good visiting in.

paul and i went to the "wagon wheel" for some lunch. nearly everything out here is quaint and the wagon wheel is no exception. as we walked in, i spotted steve. i tried to ignore my compulsion to photograph him, but eventually decided that i couldn't.

i excused myself from paul and went over to steve with my 10 second presentation. he immediately agreed to be today's stranger, so i ran out to the car to grab my gear. i asked steve to come outside, but when we got out there i realized we had no shade. the sun was out in all its glory - the kind of sun that feels like it could burn your eyes right out of your head. i wedged steve into a corner of the building and we just managed to get enough shade to make it work.

i told him he had a great look. i think he misunderstood me because his reply to that was, "i've been called worse." i assured him that i meant it as a compliment, but i'm not sure he cared either way. he was very easy to photograph and so mild - serene is maybe the best word i wold choose to describe steve.

03 february, 2009

sarah . 29 years old  /  portland . maine

i swung through portland again to say goodbye to my sister. after a quick bite to eat, we took a stroll down the street to drop some mail in the box. as we were walking, i was telling my sister that i needed to find someone to photograph quickly because i had to get on the road and as we were talking, i saw sarah walking towards us with a huge black dog.

i said my goodbyes to my sister and then approached "girl in hat with big black dog" and soon found out that they were sarah and jack, respectively.

sarah agreed to be a part of the project, but can't you see the hesitation in her face? i couldn't figure out if she was thinking, "how many of these 'projects' am i going to have to participate in?" or "who does this guy think he is kidding?"

at the end of the picture taking time, she opened up a bit and asked some more about the project. her sister is also an artist, but i did not get any of the details to pass along to you. for that, i apologize.

jack was a beautiful dog. very very big. a french breed, i think. so french, that i had no idea how to spell his breed. so french, that i forgot his breed entirely. he yanked on his leash during our photo shoot - either trying to eat snow or pull sarah away from the weirdo with the camera.

au revoir, maine!

02 february, 2009

bill . 60 years old  /  calais . maine

i figured i would give downtown another try today. there were a few more signs of life, but there was certainly no danger of a stampede. i'd have a whole new set of challenges if was going to be finishing my project here...

after walking up and down main street a few times, i saw bill. i wasn't quite sure if he was all there or not, so i hesitated to ask. his appearance was ok, but because he was standing in the middle of the street, staring at something i didn't find too interesting, i wondered.

he eventually looked at me and i said hello. he responded with a warm hello and a smile. i took that as a good sign, so i told him about the project. he was happy to help me out, so we stood there on the street corner for a few minutes, chatting and shooting.

01 february, 2009

brian . 42 years old  /  calais . maine

i am in calais to retrieve some of my books from my mother's place. i figured that if i'm going to settle down for a little while i should have some of my creature comforts.

exciting is not the word i would use to describe winter sunday mornings in calais, maine. nor would i use action-packed. i came "downtown" to find a stranger to photograph. when i told my mom i was going to look for people down there, she just laughed.

after walking around in what felt like solitary confinement for some time, i decided to duck into the bookstore. i figured i would photograph whoever was working in there. i asked the woman at the desk, but she politely shot me down. she did recommend that i hang around either of the two nearby diners. i took her advice for a couple of minutes, but tired of that quickly, as no one was coming or going.

my mom told me i'd have the best luck at wal-mart, as that is the spot most frequented around her. i couldn't bring myself to go there, so i chose the "shop & save" grocery store despite my fear that i would have a repeat of the denver incident and be threatened with imprisonment for soliciting.

i let a few couples and one or two elderly people pass me by and then brian came outside. he seemed harmless and i pegged him for being open to the idea. he was and we had a good shoot. i really like his eyes. i find that shade of blue to be remarkable.