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Appreciating Catherine’s Greatness
Continue ReadingBusker: One who entertains on the street or another public venue expecting compensation through voluntary donations. Synonyms: Street Performer, Trouper. She was born Catherine Flaherty — in high school a competitive swimmer, later training to expert-level in acrobatics. She is now Cate Great, a world-traveling freelance circus entertainer. We see our subject performing on a […]
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An Inhabitant of Cairo Streets
Continue ReadingI took our photograph through the windshield of a taxi on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. Our subject is well-groomed considering he spends much of his life cleaning streets with primitive equipment. Off the boulevards he no doubt lives in cramped, poorly-maintained housing, lacking private amenities. In spite of this he has trimmed his beard, […]
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Survivor On A Salt Lake Sidewalk
Continue ReadingI saw our lady approaching a long way off — ambling in fits and starts down an incline toward me. I noticed surrounding pedestrians in the distance snap their heads toward her, as if reacting to a loud noise; just as quickly they turned back to their own business. When our survivor-of-the-modern-world stopped, she stood […]
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A Prize-Winning Look?
Continue ReadingIf we held a competition among all the world’s photographs capturing ‘dirty looks’ — hateful, contemptuous gazes — the following image might be found among the contenders. It depicts what borders on a murderous stare, recorded by me while riding in a horse-drawn vehicle through an alleyway at Luxor, Upper Egypt. It reminds me of […]
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A Second Childishness
Continue ReadingYou get the feeling these grown men ache to be children again — playing dress-up. Kids will do most anything to bring fun into their lives, likewise with these characters.
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Woman Having A Politely Bitter Conversation
Continue ReadingSome lack skill — or the energy — or simply do not bother to conceal what they feel. I am not sure which operates most strongly in our photograph. Our portrait subject converses with a taller woman of a different race, whose face and demeanor are hidden from us. Our lady has dressed joyfully in […]
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Gail & Hannah On Their Special Day
Continue ReadingEarlier in life I frequented parades, where I photographed bystanders and participants alike. Berea, Kentucky celebrates each September a food delicacy — Spoon Bread — with processions, demonstrations, foot-races and dancing. The bread is a gooey cornmeal concoction bordering on pudding; it is sweet, containing fresh cream and eggs in copious amounts. Thousands of the […]
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Concerning The Elvis Mythology
Continue ReadingI know for sure Elvis is gone. I visited his grave once. That happened in the yard at Graceland Mansion in Tennessee where I sensed only his symbolic reality with no animating presence. Beside me three fellow tourists lined up in a different attitude, folded their hands and bowed their heads, behaving as if they […]
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Americana Favorites: Two Ladies In A Green Truck
Continue ReadingThe women perform matching smiles, broad and almost natural, full of bright teeth. Attached to their vintage American truck, we find a spare tire looking as if freshly lifted off the Firestone rack; the rubber is pristine, soaked recently in shine oil. Notice the burnished-until-golden door handle. I cannot say for sure whether the youngster […]
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