I’m getting excited about my portrait show, scheduled for the Round House Cafe the beginning of September. I think there will be a reception for the public and the people and families in the show. My friend George Forss,  a brilliant and famous photographer, is printing the photos for the show, we picked up the first 18 today. The one above is called “Women Of The Hardware Store,” it shows Donna and Nancy, women are all over the once all-male bastion of hardware stores, and they know their stuff.

There are about 25 portraits in the show, a wide range of people I know and love in my town. A grandmother and her granddaughter together, an animal rescuer, George and his flying saucers, Joan of “Joan’s Shear Secrets,” Ted Emerson the brushhogger, Scott Carrino doing Tai Chi,  Bridget, the independent pharmacist who closed down last year, and about a dozen others. Maria is curating the show, she is tough.

George is a wonderful printer, the photos are all in black and white, printed on beautiful paper. We are looking for the cheapest possible frames so that the photos will not be expensive, it is a celebration of the people who live and work in my small town, a celebration of community.

Maria found some nice metal frames for sale, 50 per cent off online.

George said it was obvious that these were people I live, and I learned a lot about portraits doing this.

One trick that has worked for me: I take photos, then tell people the shoot is over, then I take a shot of them. It works. The show is about a month away, and I’m getting excited. Seeing the photos George has printed made me feel very good about it. The photos were all taken with my monochrome black and white camera, it captures shades in a very special way.

Someone wrote that if you want to capture the soul of a person, shoot in black and white. I think this is true.