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She had been gone 4 days when we met outside her apartment early one Monday morning. She had literally just returned home after a 6am flight from Vermont to DC. Ultimately I wanted to capture a portrait of Kate in a natural setting, and maybe slightly out of her comfort zone. As well as record what happened on the way to getting that final shot. We got that shot, but not without a few distractions.

(Originally posted on Mobile Photo Group blog. All images taken with iPhone4.)

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I'm happy to announce my participation in this new exhibit at Studio Gallery in Dupont Circle.
"A Person and a Story" starts today and will be on display through March 24.

Opening Reception this Friday, March 2 from 6–8pm.

The exhibit features 12 portraits from six photographers and the stories behind those images. Come out to see the stories behind Jeffrey and The Lady, as well as the works of these celebrated DC photographers:

Joshua Cogan

Matt Dunn

Keith Lane

Joshua Yospyn

David Y. Lee

Studio Gallery • 2108 R St., NW • Fawna Xiao, Director

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Jeff on Pearl Street
Boulder, CO

Download his album from Amazon!

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The Ice Castles are creation of walkways, ice formations, tunnels, and arches – all made entirely out of ice with no supporting substructure. They can reach up 30 to 40 feet high. After about a two-hour drive from Lafayette, CO, I met up with friend and Flickr contact LeAnne Kemper once again for a photo adventure. (In November of 2010 we met in real life for the first time at Garden of the Gods.) My initial reaction was that they were much smaller than I expected after viewing the website. But after closer inspection, and as the sun set, changing the experience alltogether, it was clear there was much beauty to be captured.

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Also featured are:

Greg Schmigel - Photoshop Xpress

Star Rush - Vint B&W

Misho Baranovic - Photo FX

Aik Beng Chia - Noir Photo

Sion Fullana - Snapseed

Oliver Lang - ProCamera

Chun Tong Chung - Photoforge2

Here's my write up as it appears in the spread:

SHAKE IT PHOTO

My go-to app is Shake It Photo which I like for it's ease of use and one-touch processing. Aesthetically I like the subtle adjustment in saturation and contrast. Applying not too much of either gives the photo just enough boost. And the textured, off-white border and the inner drop shadow around the frame provide the last bit of detail that completes the Polaroid feel.

Beyond this, street portraits make sense on a more emotional level. The brief interactions I have with my subjects is as fleeting as the photo-processing itself, and the photographs that inspired the app.

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Street photographer Greg Schmigel (Just What I See) in DC

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Jeffrey is a homeless man that lives in my neighborhood in Upper NW. My first memory of him is from when I saw him in CVS more than a year ago. He was standing near the newspapers reading out loud. Often when I see him outside he'll be talking to himself quite loudly. He is someone that many people avoid. As I have done.

He spends most of time in the 5 short blocks between the Starbucks at Livingston St and the Metrobus station at Chevy Chase Circle, where he sleeps. But when I saw him in Adams Morgan a few weeks ago I finally said hello. Today my friend James and I ran into him at the bus stop and he asked James for a light. Then we talked about photography a little.

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If you're familiar with Brooke & Chelsea then that means you've probably known me for a few years. If not, you might want to get caught up here. The short version of the story is that they were my 22nd portrait of my 100 Strangers Project. We met on July 9th 2008 in Georgetown and we've gotten together on, or around, that date every year since for another portrait session. That very first meeting lasted about 15 minutes. Each one since then has lasted considerably longer as we've gotten to know each other better. And the stories, and photos, have become more personal.

This year is the most personal yet. It's a little hard to believe actually. And it plays out like a documentary where you have no idea what you're about to get into when you start filming and then something really special happens. 

It was a bit of a rough year for the Maggi sisters since last we met in Brooklyn in 2010. There have been break-ups and jobs lost and even an apartment fire. But things are turning around. Chelsea, 21, met a great new guy, and Brooke, 23, moved back to Maryland to be closer to family, and because finding work in NY was a constant struggle. She's happy to be back and just started working at Tryst in Adams Morgan. Say hi if you see her. (She's on the right). 

In the past we would shoot wherever we happen to meet, or wherever was most convenient. And I always liked it that way since it reminded me of the spontaneity of that original portrait (and the Strangers project in general). This year Brooke told me she wanted to meet in Dupont Circle, at a specific place that was very dear to her. I couldn't argue with that.

In the three years we've known each other I've met their mother and older sister but there was never any mention of their father. They were taking me to the benches on the south side of the Circle where they told me their dad lived for many years while he was homeless. He had left them long ago, shortly after Chelsea was born and over the years had only sporadic contact with him up until about 5 years ago. He's battled addiction his whole life and was in and out of jail while the girls were growing up. Their last contact with him was this past April, and on this day they didn't know where he was or what he was up to.

We walked over to "his spot", and there, written in the cement below, they showed me this. 

It reads, Nicole Brooke Chelsea I love you. Daddy 96.

The tattoo on Brooke's finger says 18th and Mass. Another place nearby where she used to look for her dad growing up. 

We spent the next few minutes talking more about their life growing up without him and then just life in general. And taking pictures too of course. After a while we decided to move on to a new location for a few more photos before I had to go. We headed East out of the Circle towards New Hampshire Ave and after about 200 feet I noticed a guy on the benches looking at us walking by. When he called out, "Hello, ladies.", I simply took him for just another guy on the corner.

Until Brooke turned to me and said, "Oh my God! That's my dad!"

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Mukta and Joe — July 3, 2011

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On Friday morning, my last day at the beach, Emma reminded me about the photo class I proposed we conduct while on vacation. I hadn't forgotten but at the same time I didn't want to force them into something they weren't interested. I'm so glad they were.

So we set out with our cameras (and iPhone) in hand to the screened-in portion of the deck and I started by administering my very first Pop-Quiz: What did we use to capture photographs before digital cameras were invented?, I asked. I figured the older two would know, so I was really asking Joshua in hopes that somewhere somehow in his travels he would have heard about FILM. (Beautiful, smelly, finicky, magical film.) After all his Grandpa Ed worked at Kodak for over 30 years. But I cut the kid some slack. He's only 8. His siblings helped him out and we moved on.

We talked about what they like to take pictures of — Kyle: animals; Emma: flowers; Joshua: [shrug]. And what makes a good photograph: Good compostion, interesting subject, or simply "something that you like". Our class would be short and it would only take place in and around our beach house. My goal for them was to look at normal everyday objects and scenes a little differently and realize they could create something interesting from the mundane. I staged a still life (above) from items from around the house and Emma did the same. And with that we were off, sometimes sticking together, sometimes wandering off on our own. I coached a little. I held some cameras straight(er). But I let them go. My photo class was going to be fun!

Here are their favorites:

Fruit (top) and Pool (above) by Kyle

Still Life with Coffee and Donut (top) and Goggles (above) by Emma

Latch (top) and Still Life with Lillies (above) by Joshua

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via flickr.com

I almost didn't stop for this portrait. I saw Natalia from across the street as I was walking down 19th St NW from Dupont Circle and even gave her a friendly approving half-wave at the sight of her outfit. When I finally decided to approach her I had to walk up behind her to say, Excuse me. She greeted me in a think Russian accent, apologizing, and explain she didn't speak English. She spoke enough. Through short sentences, reading my card, and a bit of miming "photographer" she was surprisingly accommodating. But not after claiming she didn't like having her picture taken, and felt she didn't come out well in photos. Right.

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via flickr.com

A drifter from the west coast, Robby was juggling outside Gallery Place/Chinatown metro for money. He's traveling with friends and looking for bus fare to Baltimore. They've been in DC for 11 days, sleeping in churches and parks, after having come from Durham, NC. I gave him $5 and he gave me this image.

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via flickr.com

Moderntimes Coffee House at Politics & Prose.

I take pictures of my coffee, like a lot of people do. When I have coffee with friends I will include their cup too. I know it's not original and often times not inspiring so this day I thought of how I could look at my coffee cup in a new way. This is what I saw.

(iPhone4; Camera+)

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via flickr.com

There are no more strangers.

But when I first "met" Erica in June of last year and took this portrait I honestly believed we were.

We didn't talk long that day. She mentioned she was from England (as I could tell from the accent) but simply lived here now. Nothing about being born in Botswana, then moving to England and then to Long Island (where I'm from), to a town called Port Jefferson (ahem...WHERE I'M FROM!), before moving to DC in 1987.

So since June we've run into each other a couple more times at Starbucks and always just said hello and carried on.

But over Christmas she made the discovery while her brother (and my high school friend) Christian was setting her up on Facebook. After just a couple page clicks she saw me on Christian's page and recognized me as "that photographer" from the summer. As they continued to put two and two together the last piece of the connection came into place: We had in fact met before at Christian's birthday party two years ago, but neither of us remembered. The reason we didn't know each other from home was because she was 5 years behind me in school. So she was still in the Jr. High when I was a senior. Christian was one year behind me.

I'm glad it's worked out the way it has and it was so nice to finally catch up again today and share our stories. It's surprising that I didn't remember because I'm usually very good with names AND faces. Especially faces as nice as Erica's. So perhaps there was some latent memory that made me approach her in the first place. Who knows?

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via flickr.com

If you know me personally you know two things about me: I love talking to strangers, and I love the town of Lewes (loo-is), Delaware. Last Fall while enjoying a long weekend in Lewes, I met Fred Chapman. WWII veteran, and Lewes local of 30 years. We met at the Lewes Bake Shoppe early Saturday morning, and on this such occasion it was the stranger who approached me first. He remarked on my camera I had slung over my shoulder, saying "Now that's a real camera." And as I was set to respond, and rightfully agree, he asked if it was a film camera. Of course it wasn’t, but we began chatting about photography in general and our combined interest in the medium. And that’s when he mentioned his old darkroom equipment. Enlargers, old film canisters, timers, developing trays, and even some old chemicals — all just sitting in his basement taking up space. And if I was interested in any of it I could have it. (Aren’t strangers the best?)

Even though I knew I wouldn’t be setting up my own darkroom in my apartment anytime soon, I was curious enough about what old-time treasures I might find and I agreed to go have a look. What happened next was not typical of most of my chance meetings with strangers, or should I say ANY previous encounters. But I’m a grown up and Fred was a sweet old man so we hopped into his truck together and headed off to his house, where he lived with his sister, a mile down the road. I wasn’t worried. (It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.) Wait. What? Where was I?

Anyway, obviously my encounter turned out to be nothing but a friendly adventure with a nice man who loved photography. We talked more about his life. How he enlisted in WWII and trained as an aviation electrician. He’s worked for Dupont (twice), Scott Paper, and even worked on both the Gemini and Apollo space programs. Next time I go back to Lewes I'm definitely looking him up.

Below is the just a portion of the bounty I was to find in his basement. There’s an old 4x5 enlarger that was just too big to fit in my car. Most of these things will just make interesting decoration in my home, but I’m pretty sure that Beseler color enlarger still work. Anyone interested before it goes on Craigslist?

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