Attended my first photography gallery showing tonight and as per usual had a camera in tow. I will say, between those I snapped off and those being presented by Keith, I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me. Did anyone else here make it tonight? If not, try to make it down to NW PDX, what he’s doing will make a difference!
So to be fair, I copied an pasted all that text from my posts to FB, Instagram, and all the other things I’m “supposed” to be posting to in order to become a world famous photographer. But seriously, I had a wonderful time and realized wow, I’ve met the guy not just doing some of the kind of photography I’ve been doing (candid portraits of the unhoused), but he lives that life, at least in terms of meeting these people and building real, long term, and powerful friendships (which is something I have trouble with anyone unless you happen to be a cat). He wants to publish a photography book at some point and I’m so eager to help because IMHO he’s the Real McCoy, someone people should listen to. It’s not just his story (which I knew nothing about before tonight, and I won’t share here because it’s not mine to share) but that his photos and relationships are truly deep, genuine, and worthy of contemplation by those of us going back and forth to work and complaining about groceries prices while we still have three cars (I sorta took a “punch” at a coworker during a meeting today while she was complaining in a meeting with me, someone who’s supporting a disabled spouse, and the other person in the meeting, a single mom struggling to get by, while she was complaining about her carpets in a two salary household–and we’re talking IT salaries, not McDonald’s level work). Anyhoo, that was a tangent.
I’m hoping to build a relationship with this guy. He really, absolutely, needs a web site and blog. I want to read about what he’s been doing, who he’s been meeting, what they’re going through, how it effects him; I know other people will want to as well. And he certainly needs a spot on the local news. Even if it’s for 3 minutes, it’ll get the word out to people with influence that have the time and money (and carpets) to help him. Damn, I don’t really have the cash, but I’d definitely shove a decent wad aside over the next year to help him make this into a coffee table book people can see, enjoy, and learn from (although I will say I have my biases as in I want those who can show the Fuck-Twit-In-Chief that everything he does negatively effects every day Americans, whether they work for decent pay [me] or struggle to get by on the streets).
Anyway, enough rambling for the night.
Aslynn the (at least for tonight) mediocre portrait photographer.
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