March 6, 2009 by pam.

I’ve been driving by this guy for months. He stands at the exit ramp at I-94 and Jackson Road in Ann Arbor. Obviously homeless, he stands at the exit with a piece of cardboard without anything written on it. I’ve wanted to take his picture for some time and finally got up the courage today. I went up to him, said hi, and asked him if I could take his picture. He said, “Sure. But I don’t have anything on my sign.” I told him that was what made it interesting … and then he told me the whole story of why he doesn’t have anything written on his sign. He got ticketed and had to go to court when he had “Will work for Food” on his sign. The cop didn’t show up to the hearing so the case was thrown out. He told the judge he was going to hold up a blank sign from now on and, for the last six months, that’s what he’s been doing. It’s been driving me bonkers that he holds up a blank sign! Now I know the story behind it.

His name is Chuck and he’s homeless. He sleeps under bridges and right now has his blankets under I-94 at Jackson Road. He mentioned that it was a really hard winter and when I asked him if he ever thought about moving south where it’s warmer he said no, that Ann Arbor is home. He has two grown children, Alice and Lisa. He was easy to talk to, willing to share his story, and didn’t seem under the influence of anything.

I anticipated some sort of negotiation when I asked to take his picture … something like “Sure … you can take my picture for five bucks” but he just said yes. We chatted for 5-10 minutes and then, when I left, I shook his hand … and then gave him a dollar. He didn’t ask – I just gave it to him.

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November 10, 2008 by pam.

The online photo group I belong to (Photo a Week) has started something new … Theme a Month. November’s theme is Uniformity. I started shooting two weekends ago and got a few shots while in Saugatuck. My photo buddy, Bev, has also joined and as we wandered the town shooting we were digging the assignment. To see what’s there for the month of November so far go here: http://www.pixelgary.com/PAW/Theme/index.php?x=browse

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April 2, 2008 by pam.

Turns out Peter Turnley is an artist in residence at the U of M Residential College during the winter semester. So, that’s why he’s in town. He is speaking again next week on Tuesday, April 8.

His talk this time is in connection with the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. His public lecture is entitled “Iraq Uncensored: Images from US-led wars in 1991 and 2003″. After his lecture, there will be a discussion about the war led by Charles Bright, a professor of history.

If you’re interested in attending, the lecture is free and open to the public. It starts at 7:00 PM and is at the East Quadrangle Residential Building in room 126. That’s at 701 E. University Ave in Ann Arbor.

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March 27, 2008 by pam.

Tuesday night I went to Washtenaw Community College to hear a talk by a photographer. My friend and photo buddy, Bev, went with me. We both enjoyed his talk very much.

Peter Turnley calls himself a photo journalist. He’s been a photographer for over 30 years and has visited over 90 countries. His photographs have been on over 40 covers of Newsweek. He talked for about an hour and a half in the dark while showing some of his photographs (most of which can also be seen on his website http://www.peterturnley.com/index.html). He’s a good speaker and seems like a regular guy who has had some, as he would call them, lucky breaks. He spoke confidently but not arrogantly to a crowd of a couple of hundred people. It was a mixed crowd with lots of WCC students and a good number of older people. Bev and I figured we were right smack dab in the middle of the demographic group. When the slide show was done he took questions for a half and hour. He’s a good story teller and it’s amazing he remembers the details of places and dates he’s been. He lives in NYC now but lived for a good number of the last 30 years in Paris.

He, his stories and mostly his photographs inspired me to give taking photos of people a try!

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August 13, 2007 by pam.

This past week two of my photos sold. I’m a part of the Ann Arbor Women Artists group. They partner with different businesses around town and hang AAWA members’ art on the walls. For the next two months I’ll have six photos on the wall at the Westgate Curves. The show, up until October 6, has been up just over a week and I’ve sold two photos and a set of notecards! I’m just tickled.

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April 28, 2007 by pam.

The weekend of April 20-22 I participated in the Hocking Hills Photo Contest. Friends of Hocking Hills, a state park in Ohio, sponsors the event. The money the contest raises goes back into the park, specifically for photographers. Last year a photo blind and Rose Lake near the campground was completed.

This is the second year I participated in the contest and, although I didn’t come close to winning, I think my shots improved over the past year. Last year I felt far less confident and couldn’t quite get into my groove. Part of the problem was trying to shoot in the categories of Flora, Landscape, Human Interest, Abstract and Wildlife. None of these categories suit me and my eye. This year I took a different approach and shot what I found rather than trying to find each category and shoot it.

To see my entries in these categories go here: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BcMWbNu2ZKQoA

To see my favorite pics from the weekend, go here:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BcMWbNu2ZKQqI

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March 12, 2007 by pam.

Being an avid photographer I participate in a group of (mostly Californian) photographers. Our only ‘requirement’ is to shoot the photo in the last week. Joining this group did a lot for me. First, it challenged me to take pictures every week. Previous to joining the group, I was shooting in batches; vacations, activities, outings. Now I’m shooting on a regular basis. The other challenge was to try and be up to par with the other photographers, all who are quite good. To look at all the contributions, go here http://homepage.mac.com/ghdes/Gary/PAW/index.html

Above is this week’s PAW, a photo of my old saxophone. Enjoy.

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