No Need For A Portrait
I was making photos of Adam Hernandez earlier in the day and couldn’t stay very long as I had an appointment and didn’t want to be late.
Every photo I’d made was a simple news photo illustrating him beginning to paint the new mural on East Main. The photos showed him in action painting white primer over the old mural. They were good photos to illustrate the story.
Because I had to leave for the appointment I didn’t get to make a couple of photos that would have extended the depth of the photo story. None of the photos showed his face. All were from the rear, of the artist at work.
I knew when I returned what photos I wanted to make. Would be great to get the last strokes of primer being applied. Then a portrait of the artist against the white wall.
Then, photograph the pants bearing the abstract expressionism of a Pollock painting with strokes of the paints Adam had been using for previous murals.
When asked, he slid his paint-splattered hand into his pocket turned sideways and let me make a photo that visually exposed his history in action and color.
This may be better than a portrait or a photo of the artist at work.
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