A Case of Mistaken Identity

As the lesbian photographic project continues on, we find ourselves hanging out in places where we are likely to meet lesbians. Just last week, for example, we set up in front of the Cubbyhole, a bar in the West Village section of Manhattan catering to a gay clientele, and waited for likely looking subjects to pass by. When we stop potential subjects, sometimes we are met with a good-naturedly asked question, "Why do you think I'm a lesbian?" and sometimes we are turned down because the person is straight. For the most part, however, the people we stop respond favorably and consent to having their portrait made.

That was the case with Tanja, a striking-looking German woman we met in Provincetown.

Tanja

Considering her look, the fact that she was with several other women as they strolled through the gay community of Provincetown led us to the conclusion that she was a lesbian. Imagine the surprise then in receiving the following, charming email from Tanja early this morning (grammar and spelling have not been corrected): 

Dear Robert,
I saw my picture on your homepage yesterday. I'm really honored and I like it very much. It was a speziell experience. I noticed the titel of the project and I think you have to know that I'm not homosexuell. I can't remember if you or the nice women told me about that before we startet to take the picture. Otherwise I would have mentioned this immediatly. I would be very proud if you don't change the picture but I will understand your descision if you will do.

Uuuhhh writing in english isn't that easy. 

Yours Tanja 

PS: I was really laughing wenn I got the titel "lesbian Portraits" and on the other hand it was a strange feeling. But don't worry about that. It didnt happend to me for the first time.

Sigh. Sometimes the perfect look just turns out not to be...

The World Is Really A Very Small Place

Photo - © Andrew Frost

I routinely read an online forum called Large Format Photography. Earlier in the summer I read a query from a photographer who was planning on traveling across the country, asking about current exhibits that he could check out along the way. A photographer by the name of Andrew Frost answered: "If you pass through Kansas, I have some photographs and a set of books I made in collaboration with a printmaker up at the Lawrence Art Center... 40x50 inkjets from 8x10."  Coincidentally, I was about to make a family trip to Lawrence, so I decided to drop by and check out his work.

Andrew's photos and handmade books proved to be exceptional. His 40x50 inch prints were full of rich, meticulous detail, and his handmade books were one-of-a-kind show pieces. The work just blew me away. Inasmuch as I am currently working on a project entailing large format prints, and I have a new found interest in book making, I decided I would track down Andrew and see if he would answer some questions.

Turns out that Andy lives only about fifty miles from where I live. When I contacted him by email and asked if he would be able to meet me to talk about his work, he graciously agreed. So, over coffee on Sunday, Andy met with me for two hours, generously sharing his deep technical knowledge about printmaking, and patiently answering all of my naive questions.

So, consider today's blog post as a shout out to Andy Frost, as well as an ironic acknowledgement that two, metropolitan New York photographers could connect with one another through a photo exhibit in Lawrence, Kansas, of all places.

I encourage you to spend a few minutes linking over to sample more of Andy's fine work.

Photo - © Andrew Frost

Photo - © Andrew Frost

"Just Me"

We were working on our lesbian project in Provincetown last weekend, approaching likely candidates in the street as they walked by. We stopped one great-looking woman who had a couple of children in tow along with her partner. Initially, she thought we wanted to photograph the kids and demurred. Once we explained our project and made it clear that we wanted to make her portrait, she agreed.

A few days later, as a result of our brief session, the subject of the portrait wrote a poignant blog post, which she has agreed to let me repost, as long as I maintain her anonymity. The repost, sans links, is below, as is her finished portrait. The post speaks for itself...

Just Me

August 2, 2015

This weekend, while in our most favorite ocean-side city, on our best day adventure yet, a lovely man & his wife blind-sided us and approached from behind. They were photographers. And before I could let them fill the space between us with the want to document our family, I said as I so often do, "No thank you. We don't allow photos of our kids." And then the man surprised me. Already, I liked his gentle way. The welcome in his glance, which said he knew things about the world that I did not and that I could only wonder about, left me wanting to hear what he had to say. He redirected the conversation despite the wall I was quick to erect & asked for just me. Not my kids. Not my beautiful wife. Just me. Because I fit the bill for a project he was working on to honor his late sister. Whom I now understand to have been one of the few brave gay women who paved the way for me. Who, like me, identified as a woman in all ways and who, like me, was socially scarred by fear & mean-filled eyes of passersby who would identify us as butch or worse, men. "I'm looking for masculine looking women," he said. And at once, I agreed & thanked him for the opportunity to participate. Thanked him for pushing forward with such a project. Thanked him for being kind.

And then I stood there in the square of that busy intersection, in our favorite ocean-side city, with my family playing nearby & curious people observing, standing on his X marks the spot & looking into the lens of this great camera. 

In all the world, he is the only person to have ever approached such a sensitive topic in such an earnest, honest, kind way. And he is the first person to seek me out and ask for just me.