Photos

This is an homage to Torben and his gritty urban scenes often displayed with exaggerated contrast. I took the photo with my camera cradled in my arms without looking in the view finder. I pressed the shutter button down half way to focus, though I'm never certain what it is the camera will focus upon.

This young woman, likely a teenager returning home after school, was intensely engaged in a conversation on her rhinestone studded cell phone. The image was compromised by the great contrast between her face in shadow and the glaring white stucco of the building in the background. When it proved impossible to reclaim a color image I converted to black and white. It was then I recalled a recent photo by Torben entitled Speaking and decided to experiment with a harsher application of contrast. This is the result. Without the intensity in the girl's face it might be too much, but at least to my eye it works. Above the girl's head you see a small sign that says "Town of Fairfax."

It happens that yesterday I had lunch with the father of a teen about the same age as this young woman and our conversation touched on the challenges of rearing teens in this age of computers, the internet and cell phones. As he observed, kids have so much freedom to get into trouble. Since kids will be kids, they almost certainly will do so. We laughed about the trouble we got into when we were teens, but somehow those seemed much more innocent times. No more.

I've no idea what this young woman is talking about and certainly have no sense that she is a troubled person. I use this scene to tell my story, no more nor less. Perhaps you know someone just like her... ;-)