The proud face

This face shows glimpses of honour, self respect and dignity. It’s hard to fake this look and it comes from somewhere deep inside of us and it is connect to happiness; happiness in ourselves, pride in our accomplishments, not material accomplishments but personal and inner self respect. I have seen in children and in seniors, I’ve seen it appear and fade, the easy look in their eyes and the knowing smile on their lips let’s us know they have a secret that they don’t need to share. You don’t need to go far to see it, but the hardest place to see it is in the mirror.

The industrious face

The industrious face

in·dus·tri·ous    Spelled[in-duhs-tree-uhs]
adjective

Working energetically and devotedly; hard-working; diligent: an industrious person

Of all the faces out there I think I notice the industrious face the most, there is something about the intense look of concentration on a task that speaks to me. There is energy in work, a feeling of accomplishment or sometimes a feeling of total loss when things don’t go well. So the energy can be negative or positive and the outcome hangs so tenuously on a razors edge, but somehow it’s not always shown in the face. Right up until that last second before success or failure our brain power is engaged in the action, with fear and joy waiting for their queue to jump in and take over.

The new face

From this place we only start to age, many will try to regain these attributes; soft skin, large bright eyes and small nose. There is something refreshing with seeing the new face, it’s unique and fresh, no one has ever looked just like this. But mostly it’s the wide eyed fascination with the entire world, everything even the most simple things must seem like magic or fantasy. What does the new face see, how does it perceive things. In this new face there is almost a Mona Lisa type smile .. the only two emotional things we are born with laughing and crying, it takes time for the rest of the world to teach us fear, anger and all the other complicated emotions imposed on us. In this high key lighting the subject seems to emerge from pure light, born into this contrasting place of good and bad. Just looking at this image makes me feel different inside, it makes me more optimistic, more trusting and more relaxed. Maybe it’s the innocence, the friendliness or the clean slate we all start with. What do you see? what do you feel?

The first face

Faces in the crowd … most of us would rather melt into a crowd and not be noticed because we feel imperfect while others being bold and confident make sure they stand out for all to notice . Well this blog is intended to bring attention to those who would prefer to remain anonymous, but not to point them out but to recognize the beautiful differences surrounding us and them.

Only first names will be use if any at all, I want to read in the faces what is being captured, the context from which the photo was taken … there’s a word “captured” like some indigenous tribes believing we can capture their soul in a camera I think we capture something, but I am still trying to figure out what…so I hope people reading this blog can help me discover what it is we capture…

All this is inspired by http://www.99facesofoccupywallst.org/ by August Bradley

This is the first time I have ever physically (this blog) dealt with the things I have thought about. Either, the medium was not there nor did I have a safe non judgemental  place or person to share it with, It seems I am older, perhaps wiser ( not sure) but I do know I no longer want to be silent about them . Now I don’t want to scream them out either, my photos speak too me … speak about me  so it’s only fair that I start with a photo of me ! 

A dark, low key photo of me, trying to use shadow to merge with the background. Sharp strands of hair dirty glasses, un-trimmed beard and neutral look. What do others see? What shows?  what is hidden?

In the coming months I hope to share more faces and hope you share some too.

Sean