I love when I see something within something else… and one of my favorite things to spot, is a face hidden in an image.  I will stop in my tracks to nab a shot of it – unless I’m shooting aerial photography..in which case I have to see it, shoot it & move on.

These are but a few “faces” I have photographed & are some of my favorites.

Mouse over an image for its title..

Enjoy the “Monkey Farm” aerial- which at a glance, appears to be just that.  See it?  Hang upside down & let the blood rush to your head..  see it now?

The furniture that folks put out on the curb… take a look at “Goldie Dawn” & “Snow Story” & “Green Giant” in this series of images. These old pieces have some personality. Most drive past it. I thrive on finding it.

“Hot For You” is the end of an oil filled radiator.

“Iron (board) Man” was hanging out back stage at the NWMSU winter commencement. This guy was no match for me & my trusty Nikon D90.. 18-200mm VR lens, for you techies.

Just look at the size of the green robot head on the top secret space alien archeological dig somewhere in Kansas. The government scrambled my brain so I’d forget what I saw but I managed to get out with one photo . I have to be on the move constantly now, leaving cardboard cutouts of myself all over town..

The big grinning frog with goofy eyes is really the new Kauffman Center For The Performing arts taken from 2,000′ on a recent aerial outing.

“Snow Story” looks like a gentle old soul..waiting for the pleather hearse to show up.

“Green Giant” is an old side table that has a bit of a robot feel to it. and- the bonus here..  The house was the same color as the table! I can’t plan it any better than this…

And finally… this face in the tombstone was just plain creepy to see across the street. Taken in  Cassadaga Florida.. the town has a haunted history as it is. This old tombstone just adds to the mystery… Don’t stare at this one too long.. I will not be responsible for what could happen.

These are some of the faces I see in the everyday… you should hear what the voices in my head have to say.

Thanks for looking. Pass me along or call me up. I love to shoot real faces on real people. I’ll show up with a Nikon & an eye & my passion.. then the fun starts.

Bryan & Monica are the wonderful hosts & owners & the food rocks. They are featuring local artists & I was asked to hang my “By The Curb” photographs until they find one. OK…I guess I am one.  That is my photo, “Grandma’s off her Rocker” on the wall. Of course..there are more than just that one. I just wanted to show a little of the Nica’s look. As a Kansas City photographer, I do things like that.

They are going to promote a show for me & I just know the line will stretch out the door..or maybe it’ll just stretch out in my mind.  I will keep you posted.

All shot with the Nikon D200 or D90, the photos seem to pop off the cool colored walls at Nica’s. No beige allowed here in this corner of OP.

Then, on my way home from an errand after hanging my work, I was cruising midtown once again for new spring cleaning victims when standing in a shaft of beautiful golden hour light was a beautiful specimen of the wily 1/2 mannequin. Usually they only come out at night…after the sales. But this was a great find. I went home & hoisted a beer in celebration. The family… thought I was crazy. But that’s what a good Kansas City photographer will do… drive the family crazy.

Sexy to really lonely guys & functional for a dressmaker, I wondered which of the two tossed it out.

Thanks for looking today. If you see a piece by the roadside, keep me in mind & give me a shout. I’ll run out with my trusty Nikon & click away at it.

Nikon..in front of every good eye.

I’m stoked! I had a meeting today with the owner & executive chef at Nica’s in Overland Park at 143rd & Metcalf. His name is Bryan Merker & he & his wife have an eclectic little bistro & coffee/tea hut. Very nice people there. They are doing revolving artists & I have been asked to show my “By The Curb” photos. I just today, took all of my pieces out of Figlio’s on the Plaza where they withstood a year & a half showing. Nice exposure…one sale. But I am happy to be showing in Overland Park. I will post the show date as soon as I know… stay tuned.

And I think these 2 combo prints will be included…

I love it if I revisit a spot where I once took a photograph of a “by the curb” piece & there sits another item in the same place.

Here are 2 such examples.

The vertical print was taken last Jan, 2009. I had been in midtown & noticed the sofa & the grass that was almost the same color & the stained window shades above…& shot it right from the car as I pulled to where the best frame was. The radio is on… the weather says, “A chance for snow.”

Well, this time the weather folks were correct. I had to go into midtown again & I remembered the shot from the day before. I went back & sure enough, there it was.. and a blanket had been added. I pulled up to try & recall, from memory, the framing- & I got damn close. These images are not cropped. They are full frame. One day apart.

The title of this print (available in 12×36) is “Sun & Snow”

The horizontal print (also a 12×36) is titled “Safe Place To Sit”

At least that’s the running title at the moment.

The story is fresh. Just today, I was visiting a friend in midtown & on the way home passed by 41st & State Line- where I had shot the green recliner on the left in 2007.  The photograph on the right was taken today & though they are not in the exact identical spot & distance from the hydrant- they were close enough to tell a story. Photographed 3 years apart…same location.

The green recliner image from 2007 was shot with a Nikon D200 & 18-200mm VR lens. The remaining photos were shot with the D90 & same lens. Thanks for looking. A 12×36 framed print looks smashing on any wall, by the way.

I took this image in a small KS  town that I have forgotten…

I’m guessing that the trash men had fun loading this piece!

March 2009