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My wife and her mother were doing some shopping at the Park Place Mall in Tucson, Arizona this afternoon. I went along and spent the time strolling near the entrances/exits of the mall with an eye peeled for potential portrait subjects. i was a bit short on luck so I decided to exit the mall on the north side and stroll along the sidewalk with an eye on the light and possible locations, should I be lucky enough to encounter a likely subject.
I saw this woman and her teenage daughter sitting at an outdoor Starbucks table sipping drinks. It was her eyes that caught my attention so Ieaned over and explained my project and my desire to photograph her, mentioning that I thought she would make a good portrait and that her eyes had a great sparkle. She hardly hesitated and asked how I wanted to do it. Meet Kelley.
I pointed to a nearby wood gate I had noticed on my first pass. It was preventing dumpsters from being an eyesore outside the mall and I told her I thought the shaded side of the gates would make a nice, simple background but that we would have to squeeze into the somewhat thin slice of shade to escape the blazing Arizona sun. Fortunately, she was game. Kelley asked if the wind would be a problem and I said "I hope not but let's see."
Kelley was very good at following my simple direction although my idea of posing her at an oblique angle to the gate may have seemed a bit odd to her. I've recently discovered that describing the position I want my subject to be in is sometimes awkward. What is working far better is to say "I'm going to position myself the way I'd like you to stand - just like this. I'm going to be facing you with my camera just over there. All you have to do is look directly into the lens and try to give a relaxed pose. You don't have to smile." Kelley did great and I explained the care I was taking with manual focus so she did not get impatient. Having my subject understand what I am trying to accomplish and having them look at my first shot which is often an exposure test helps a lot.
Kelley is originally from Rhode Island but came to Tucson many years ago (about 30) with her family.She works as a labour and delivery nurse at one of the local hospitals. I commented that must be a rewarding job - to help bring new lives into the world - and she said it really is. I found it interesting that, between Kelley and my previous two strangers (who were digging a grave), both ends of life's journey have been represented. When I asked if she had any words to live by she said "Just don't be negative." Good words to keep in mind.
When I showed the photos back at their table, Kelley's daughter said "Oh, you are so cute!" I used this as an excuse to offer to photograph the daughter too and she shyly declined which I respected. We exchanged information and Kelley wished me a nice visit to Tucson and good luck with my photo project.
Thank you Kelley for participating in 100 Strangers. You are now Stranger #430 in Round 5 of my project.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
To browse Round 1 of my 100 Strangers project click here: www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157633145986224/
To browse Round 2 of my 100 Strangers project click here:
www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157634422850489/
To browse Round 3 of my 100 Strangers project click here: www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157635541434065/
To browse Round 4 of my 100 Strangers project click here:
Next time you are stuck in a Traffic light ...the same one you get stuck in
everyday..... just look around for 2 Minutes i Bet you will see something
new everytime, I know I do.
Bei der Barbarakapelle ist das Baudatum nicht mehr so genau zu ermitteln. Fachleute folgern aus dem frühgotischen Baustil die Zeit zwischen 1200 und 1250. Sie ist somit ein steinernes Dokument der Frömmigkeit aus der "Gründerzeit" unserer Gemeinde. Es sollen ursprünglich nur 13 Bauernfamilien gewesen sein, die sich hier sonntäglich - damals noch stehend - zum Gottesdienst versammelten. Da mit zunehmender Bevölkerung der Raum sich bald als zu klein erwies, musste jeweils eine ganze Schar "Überzähliger" den Gottesdienst von draußen mit verfolgen. So kam laut Überlieferung der Name "Überschar" zustande als Bezeichnung für das Nutzland zwischen Kapelle und Friedhof - ein Beispiel für die auch sonst immer wieder bezeugte Langlebigkeit von Flurnamen.
Die Verknüpfung der Kapelle mit dem Namen "Barbara" ist ebenfalls interessant. Die heilige Barbara, eine Märtyrerin aus dem 3. Jahrhundert, wurde im Mittelalter als Schutzheilige der Bergleute verehrt. Markersdorf als Ort des Bergbaus? So ganz abwegig ist das nicht.
Immerhin wird in der Überlieferung des 18. Jahrhunderts über den Zeitraum von 3 Jahrzehnten von Schürfversuchen in einem 14 m tiefen Silberstollen berichtet. Die Ergiebigkeit soll aber nicht bedeutend gewesen sein. Schade. Denn welche Gemeinde würde sich nicht über eine derartige Zusatzeinnahmequelle freuen?
Seit dem Hussiteneinfall von 1429 besteht die Babarakapelle nur noch als Ruine. Aber ihre Steine reden noch heute zu uns. Sie erinnern uns an die Vergänglichkeit alles Irdischen, aber auch an das, was in allem Vergehen allein Bestand hat. Es lohnt sich wohl auch für uns heute, über beides immer wieder einmal nachzudenken.