72. Nothing is that easy

I didn't leave campus tonight until 8 o'clock. I didn't have any classes that met it was just a long day of one meeting after another. I actually got to spend a little time with my dear friend and colleague Kevin. We chatted a bit about my blog and he was impressed with everything else on my plate that I was able to keep up with it. (Honestly I didn't think I would make it this far - and I swear every night this is my last post.) I mentioned I have been thinking about working on a series of portraits for a couple of reasons. First, I love taking them so they are easy for me. I may have to work at mastering other subjects, but portraits I am good at (forgive the boasting, but after all it is my blog.) Second, there is always a good story that goes along with the portrait. Everybody has a story.

So after our conversation wrapped up I grabbed my iPhone and took a quick portrait of Kevin. It took may be a minute, but I do "like" it, a lot. I think much of "liking" a photograph is more about recognition. There is often something it reminded me of... it took a couple hours but then it hit me... Bruce Charlesworth.  I don't know a ton about Charlesworth but I first became familiar with his work in the early 1990s. It was a series of constructed images of a man in a dressed in a suit, alone and in edgy, risky or precarious predicament. He stance always stiff and unnatural. Very 1990s, very post modern, open-ended narrative.

The portrait of Kevin shares some strong elements in this photograph: his stance mirrors that of the fire hydrant in a comical yet familiar way, the color of the  green street light from above with the warm glow of the flood lights in the distance, and then there is the odd red curb that recedes into nowhere. Totally different situation, similar composition and outcome.

So, in the end I took a portrait of Kevin because I thought it would be so easy to tell you all about my friend of 15 years. How we met, what we have experienced working together almost everyday for that last decade and a half, but in the end the image got the best of me. Sorry Kevin... I will have to tell your story another night.

Bruce Charlesworth