Photos that tell a story

I like street photography because it usually involves people watching. Some more interesting than others, like the ones that evoke an emotion.  I usually fabricate a story in my head about the person, wondering how much of it is true. 

This image is an example of evoking emotion to me, one of  protective instinct. I saw this young boy enter the subway car alone in New York and my first thought was that he was so young to be traveling New York by himself. His big eyes seemed so sad and he clutched so tightly to the bag he was carrying. He kept looking at the monitor that displayed the next stop on the route. He kept swinging his leg and fidgeting, seemed anxious. Where was he going?

Alone

This gentleman was sitting alone in a restaurant having a beer. I wondered if this was a regular stop for him on a daily or a weekly basis. Or maybe he was a tourist as I was, just stopping for a cold drink. He seemed deep in thought, occasionally looking out the window. What was he thinking?

The Regular

This young couple was entwined on this bench in over 90 degree weather. I thought the young lady may have been hurt because of the cloth she held in her hand.  It seemed so hot to be so close but it may have just been young love.

Comforting

Of course, this is what I see, you may see something entirely different. I hope I made you stop and think about it.

Proud to be an American

To me the Fourth of July brings to mind the American flag. 

A Day with a Three Year Old

I am three and the world is all about me

A friend of mine has a three year old granddaughter that I enjoy being with. When she was two, it seemed that she was constantly on the run and when I tried photographing her, I mainly got her backside as she was always running in the opposite direction. Now that she is three, she seems to enjoy when I photograph her and even commented last session "I am good at taking pictures" even though she was in front of the camera. She does love to pose but the images that I really love are the unexpected shots I got when she wasn't posing. We were supposed to be outside but as luck would have it, it was raining but we decided to see what we could get.

Look

Some of my favorite shots were taken while she was looking out a window into the woods. As she was sitting there, lost in her own world, she was spinning a story about a wolf and a little girl that she rattled on about as she sat there. I loved her imagination and we talked back and forth about what was happening. I was just happy to be allowed to be part of her world even for a short time. The great thing is she was not tuned into me and my camera.

Wonder

Fixing Her Hair

Young children are not as camera shy as older children or adults, more natural and uninhibited. Anxious to talk and tell you things like where they got a boo-boo. 

See my Boo-boo.

By the end of the day she was getting tired but was still receptive. I thought it best to end the shoot and come back another day when we could be outside. She looked like she was ready for a nap as well as myself and her Grammy.

Raining Outside, I 'm Bored

Boxer

                                                                     
                                          
                                      September 7, 2002-April 28, 2012

Boxer

Our cat, Boxer went into renal failure about 2 months ago and after struggling hard for his last week, we had to make the tough decision of considering euthanasia. The last week that he was with us I took over 150 pictures of him, wanting to preserve him, knowing the inevitable but not wanting to let him go.
It was nearly 10 years ago that I had taken my youngest son to a friends party and I was headed home when I passed a yard where 2 young boys were sitting with a cage with 3 kittens. They had a sign saying "free kittens". I stopped to take a look (we were cat less at that point). One of the boys said his Mom told him that he could not come back in the house until he got rid of all the kittens. To help him out I took one. My husband was out of town at the time so it was the perfect opprortunity.
When I brought him in the house he was immediately accepted by our children and our chocolate lab, Sadie. From the beginning he was a tough guy. He greeted Sadie by standing on his back legs and swatting at her nose with his front paws, hence his name, Boxer.
It has been a week since he has been gone and a lot of memories have been exchanged. We have seen him wrestle a snake while standing on his hind feet, he snagged on of his front fangs when he was just a kitten and had to have it pulled (with no anesthesia) which made his mouth a little lopsided, he was a hunter, yet kind enough to become the "big brother" to an abandoned kitten that my daughter found on the side of the road.
He was also a wonderful model for numerous photos over the past decade. I was reminising this week, looking back at old images. I had backed up all of my digital files and went to the archives to look for his kitten images. I started to get a little concerned when I couldn't find them, knowing that I had backed up everything because of a previous scare of almost loosing some other important images. (Note:very important to back up images). After a few panicked moments, I realized that I was still shooting film at the time that we got him, whew.
Boxer was not an affectionate cat.  He would sit near you but rarely on your lap. He had the longest whiskers, the prettiest green eyes and I was always amazed at how he kept the pads on his paws as pink as the day I brought him home (even though the were exposed daily to Georgia red clay).
He is missed.

Old Buildings

I am attracted to old buildings. There is something about them that exudes history. They have so much character, be it the structure itself or the textures. The textures may be original or those that have developed over time with decay. There are characteristics about older buildings that are different than todays structures.  I like this cast iron star which is a  cable anchor which supports the exterior walls. 

Star Anchor

It is kind of sad to see a building in demise. Sometimes I wonder if it could have been reused rather than building a new structure. 

I grew up in Lenoir, NC where furniture was a big industry. Almost everyone that lived there was associated in some way with furniture. I had a few summer jobs working in the factories there. Now when you go to Lenoir, you see a lot of empty factories. Times they are a changing as the song goes. 

Furniture Factory

Sometimes it is nostalgia that attracts me, like this photo of the Center Theater in Lenoir. I can look at it and remember events such as going to see a double feature of Dracula and Frankenstein with my younger brother. Or going to see Dr Zhivago with friends or first dates at the theater.

Center Theater

One day these buildings may no longer be standing and I would like to think that through my photographs I have preserved a memory or a piece of history.

Photography and Seinfeld

When I am shooting something like the photo below, I often think of Seinfeld, "a show about nothing".

Salt & Pepper

When photographing, the subject does not always need to be a grandiose subject, just everyday "nothing really special" items that spark an interest. Sometimes the subjects can be arranged uniquely or not. Since I am a visual person. one of the things I enjoy about photography is all the different perspectives of photographers which gives each one a uniqueness. Taking an everyday item, one that may seem mundane, often past over and preserving its image, making it more than "nothing".  I am so thankful for all photographers for visually sharing so many wonderful images of everyday life. It gives us all a chance to take a second look and possibly see it for the first time. All the nothing is actually something, maybe not grandiose but they make up a life. Sometimes it may even spark a memory in someone.

But hey, Seinfeld ran for 9 seasons and the reruns are still on.  There must be something to this "nothing".

Gone

Revisiting

Happy New Year!  Sometimes I get in a slump with my photography and I will go back and view some of my older images. In doing so I often find images that I really like but when taking so many photos they were passed over to go on to the next group of images. (Thank goodness for digital because at least I can organize images better than I did when I was shooting film) Sometimes when time has passed, I  look at things differently and may like an image better this time around.  This photo is one such image. When looking at this, I think it creates a story (which may be different for each person) but never the less a story is created. That is one reason I like it.

Approaching

Back Stoop

The Back Stoop, another image I took during the same visit to New York in 2010. I liked the simplicity of just one chair and again it kind of created a story for me. I thought of the person living in this apartment and even though it was a busy street the chair was set up on the back stoop to create a sort of retreat for the person to sit, relax and view the people passing by.

Moment of Peace

Also taken during the same trip. I was on the subway and this woman was so peaceful, didn't know if she was sleeping, meditating or just taking a moment to rest. I thought she was beautiful and wanted to capture that moment.

So, no matter the reason, revisit at your older images. You never know what you may find.