July 5, 2011

The End of Summer

Portraits of the Unemployed

Thank you to Mark Johnson for participating in my promotional photo shoot on the unemployed. Mark was a patient subject and endured the eeriness of an empty warehouse without flinching. Thank you also to Teague Vineyards for donating the building for the shoot. Mark is a very capable engineer located in Hollister, CA.

Scott and Tom

I had the pleasure of photographing Scott and Tom for The Advocate last month. Scott has earned the unlikely title of World's 2nd Pregnant Man. He would argue that there have been many before him, they just haven't caught the attention of the media. Scott is due sometime over the next month and I wish him a speedy and pain-free delivery. Read more about their story here.

Edith

My Great Aunt Edith is 90 years old. She still drives a car and has all her marbles and tells me that these two things afford her a great many social invitations from friends needing rides to bridge games. We had lunch the other day and I took her portrait. Edith is charming and witty and says what's on her mind. She loves Law and Order and quotes regularly from Sunset Boulevard. I hope to have half her abilities if I make it to 90. Here's to you, Edith!

Things We Need

I've always wanted to take The Box photographs one step further. My attempt to get soldiers to write from Iraq failed miserably. What, are they busy fighting a war or something? Then I began to email back and forth with one soldier's mother who took interest in the project. After consulting her son, they both agreed to send me all the letters they had exchanged during his first deployment to Iraq in 2003. ( He is currently serving in Iraq again). I am humbled by their generosity, and as I sit here sifting through this pile of letters I am struck by the banality of fighting a war. Obviously, there are things that this soldier omits from his experience. Not only are there strict rules within the military about what can be discussed, but I have to assume that this soldier is also sheltering his family from some of the more difficult moments. Click image above for an excerpt from one soldier's letters home.