In this photograph from late March 2021, a salon in Collegetown has set up an outdoor waiting area for customers. A vase with a colorful bouquet of artificial flowers brightens a chilly spring morning. Plastic covered chairs give an illusion of protection from the pandemic. Morning sun shines like a spotlight, creating a tableau of Covid theater.

Walking in Elmira I came across a painter prepping the window trim of the Park Church. He gave me permission to make photos while he worked. I captured numerous interesting contortions as the painter stood and knelt on the narrow ledge, framed by the concentric gothic arches. When I was editing the images it was hard to decide which one to use. In the end, I settled on a particular image because the painter’s hunched position, the gesture of his arms, and the frame within a frame reminded me of Lewis Hine’s photograph, “Steamfitter,” from 1921. The photographer and critic Teju Cole writes that “Photographs remind us of other photographs… All images, regardless of the date of their creation, exist simultaneously and are pressed into service to help us make sense of other images.”

Driving down Clinton Street in Binghamton this scene caught my eye. It reminded me of Robert Bechtle’s photorealist paintings. Bechtle, who died in 2020, is known for including cars in his California cityscapes. I enjoy the white Mustang against the white, cinder block building, and the way the other buildings add to the structure of the image.

These are pages from my book, Feeling that Merriment, which is available for print on demand for $39.95 at MagCloud.