the little green straw that could

so, when i was looking over the portraits of this young man, i found myself spinning on a mental tangent about the power of certain visuals. there is such marketing genius in such things as simple as a green straw. i noticed the green straw in the color photo, and i immediately thought about how it instantly makes me think about a particular coffee shop. i don't know if this straw works on the average person the same way that it does me, but it is a super powered "subtle" marketing monster.

on any given sunday, one might find a fellow human dressed in their sunday's best. this is not just a southern thing, but, for some reason, i like to think that we can do it better here than others in other regions. here is a leader of a congregation that actually surprised his wife and daughter on this particular morning by donning this outfit. evidently, he is usually quite reserved in his choice of suits for sunday, but, not on this spring day. i think that he said he was having a moment of reflection on his childhood, when his mom would dress him for sunday school, and every week was an exciting ensemble like the one presented here. i am quite sure that he was honored to be chosen to be a part of this project, which would officially document his tip of the hat to his days of yore. all the while, his wife giggled and snickered at the chance encounter that put he and his fashion statement in the spotlight.

not girls, boys

i am raising two girls, not two boys. so far, it seems like a great fit. i do, however, wish that they would be more willing to grab some paper, make a paper airplane, stab it with a stick, and then set it on fire. i will have to work on that. it is wonderful to see the natural differences between boys and girls surface in such young kids; it speaks volumes.

not a ghost, a neighbor

this nearby neighbor reminds me of my father... the silver hair, the skin, the teeth, the cigarettes. his lawn is one to behold.

thesis statement

so, i spent a year taking photos of one person a day in an attempt to share a message about humanity... she did it in one day with a t-shirt.

pardon the interruption

during this project, i interrupted hundreds of moments that people were having while going about their business. i did my best to not force myself upon anyone who appeared to be "unavailable" in any sort of way. with this young man, i crossed a bit of a barrier, as he was experiencing a very quiet moment in a park, by himself, and probably his higher power. it seemed intrusive of me, but i went for it this time, partially because i was about to go home for the evening, and i did not necessarily want to get out again. also, the scene was perfectly lit by late afternoon light, and it was well composed by the elements of this particular park... and a sack full of something. he was genial and quietly responsive as i went about explaining my mission, and as you can see, he kept his calm composure, and i finished my job quickly and gave him back to his solitude.

on the wings of dreams

this place is not just a music club, it is an institution, and it is sometimes the ultimate stepping stone for those musicians/songwriters trying to make their way into an extremely competitive industry. it has helped launch the careers of garth brooks, taylor swift, and many others in it's thirty year history. thousands more have made their way to nashville, stood in the infamous line, and given their all to try to get noticed by the right person in the evening's crowd. i caught this woman at the front of the line on an evening when someone's dream was up for grabs... i'm not sure if it was her night or not... i am honestly not sure if she was even singing that evening. i am eternally mystified at the synchronicity that is sometimes required to manifest a simple dream... and, then sometimes it is just dumb luck. first, though, you've got to have a dream.