November 2013
Helen’s Closet
In the Closet: Helen was stuck in a dead-end job with little chance of improvement. She often stared out the window at work hoping someone would rescue her from her meaningless existence.
Vegas: Helen has a vacation from work and takes a trip to Vegas. She gambled a bit and then went to an Engelbert Humperdink Concert. Helen wore her favorite beaded hat. She enjoyed herself and for a while forgot her worries…
From the Inside of A Jail Cell: There was some trouble in Vegas, but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Admirer: One night as she walked home from work she felt someone watching her. A man was gazing at her from one of the shop windows. His stare was so intense and he was standing so still she thought for a moment he was a mannequin.
If I only had a brain: Helen went home to frame her thoughts. She changed into her favorite cotton and lace nightie, the one with the faux fur collar. She knew she must find a catalyst for change in her life. She had always wanted to be featured in the series of books, Modeling for Dummies. To make this dream come true she knew she must take the first step, if she could only remember what that was!
A Bunny’s Tale: Helen’s next modeling job was a little more glamorous, but not exactly what she was expecting. She kept asking when Hugh Hefner was going to arrive.
Splendor in Spain: Helen finally receives her big break. She travels to Spain to pose as a flamenco dancer and finds she is adored by the public there.
Signposts: Helen met a male model named Bruno at a job in London and had a successful shoot with him. She had hopes she would see him again.
The Broken Window: Helen was finally a famous and hard-working model, though sometimes she felt her posing was a bit stiff and rigid.
The Denouement: Helen returned home broken-hearted. At the first sign of trouble Bruno froze, like a mannequin in a store window, and never moved again… Helen resumed her job in the window and dreamed of starting again.
Biography
I am a self-taught photographer living in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has been in love with cameras since 2001. My true love is shooting film, color and black-and-white, in a variety of 35mm and medium-format cameras. Some of the well-known photographers who have influenced me are Walker Evans, Diane Arbus, Elliot Erwitt, Robert Frank, Robert Adams, William Eggleston…to name a few. The music/poetry of Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen inspires me as well.
I don’t see a particular thematic pattern in my pictures though there may be one. I tend to take pictures of places and things more than people. Finding the beauty in inanimate objects is like hunting for treasure. The textures and patterns combined with light and shadow create a landscape of their own. I search for the story in a place or object, imagining what happened before I took the picture or maybe after. I often like to add words and titles to my pictures when the picture evokes an emotion.
I am a co-author with many other fine photographers on the 591photography blog. It is through 591 that I met my husband. He has immigrated from London and we live happily in our little yellow house in Chattanooga. When I don’t have a camera in my hand I teach exceptional education students in an elementary school.
