Faces 15: Half way!

Say hi to Hal, Elizabeth, and Roselyn.  They were coming out of the Alternative Community Resource Program building loaded with boxes, so I stopped to open the door (and was blessed with a nice blast of AC for my efforts!  AH!).  I took the opportunity to ask for their picture, and they obliged.  YES!  I appreciated it, because they probably didn't feel photo ready, but they agreed anyway, and I think they look great!

They're running a basketball shoot and other activities for kids in the community this weekend, as well as offering other important and worthwhile programs on a regular basis.

I told them the picture was just a little group picture, but what made it special were the people in it, involved in doing good in the area.  Programs like these make a difference, and thank goodness for those seeing that they happen.  

So go shoot baskets this weekend and meet some people with big hearts.

~~~~~

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All images copyright Allegria Images by Lynn Rutz.  Any downloading, copying, or printing without my express permission is prohibited.**

Faces 14: Ladies of Soul

Meet Geraldine, Hannah, and Marcella, the beautiful ladies of the Mt. Sinai Institutional Baptist Church.

Yeah, their glasses have glare. It was 1:00 in the afternoon without a reflector, and the only place for them to stand with any degree of shade was facing straight into the sun.  So.  Sorry girls...  

These ladies are awesome!  They're all set to go early at the Mt. Sinai booth just outside the Bottleworks in Cambria City, so if you're going to the Ethnic Festival this weekend, stop by and say hello. They're giving away gospel tracts, school supplies, and selling soul food dinners.  And let me tell you, the chicken smells DELICIOUS.  When I was getting the releases out, a fellow came over, arms opened wide, and asked who did the chicken breading.  When he found it was Geraldine (L), he said it was like tasting heaven, and kissed her hands! 

If it tastes as good as smells, we're all in for a treat tomorrow--and Geraldine had better be prepared for lots of kisses!

~~~~

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We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming

For sunflowers!

Had to post these.  The last of Alyssa's senior session, since the fleurs were finally ready!  I know I've gone a bit nut with posting Alyssa, but dang it--how could I not post these bright, sunny flowers!

There are couple of these without the tractor, but I just LOVE having the tractor in the shot.  Adds a bit more visual interest.  As though it needed any more, but hey.  It was just a lucky addition.

Sun flare heaven..

It looks like the flower is kissing Alyssa on the cheek!  

Another stranger tomorrow.  

:)

Faces 13: Gatumi and Amanda

I couldn't help but stop and ask these two if I could take their photo.  They seem so happy, and they're such an attractive couple.

So.   I did.

They probably think I stalked them, because I saw them at the uni (although not their faces, because their heads were covered with motorcycle helmets).  But as I was taking their photo, I noticed both were wearing biking boots, and it turns out I'd inadvertently followed them to Starbucks!

I have to say, they were great.   Really friendly and easy to shoot.  And they're absolutely adorable together, too.

AW...

~~~

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All images copyright Allegria Images by Lynn Rutz.  Any downloading, copying, or printing without my express permission is prohibited.**

Faces 12: The lovely Taylor

I went over to the university today and saw Taylor sitting on the bench.  She has a really put together, stylin' look, and I really wanted to take her picture.  But just as I was about to go over, a friend stopped by and I didn't want to bother them.  So I went around the circle and saw her again, and just HAD  to ask her.  And she said yes!  YAY!

I wish I could do a full session with this girl.  She's gorgeous and so very photogenic.

I also wish I would have asked her more about herself as I took photos, but I didn't. Grk.  So when you see this post, Taylor, will you please comment and let me know a bit about yourself, even if it's just what you're studying and how long you've been in the program, whether you're from here, etc etc?  I'd appreciate it!

Since we didn't visit much, I'm posting three photos.  :)  You're so Vogue, I thought I'd process them a bit less saturated.

~~~~~

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All images copyright Allegria Images by Lynn Rutz.  Any downloading, copying, or printing without my express permission is prohibited.**

Faces 11: Hi, Ben!

Ok everyone--wave to Ben!

Ben works at my favorite little cafe.  I don't have a chance to go there often, but if a client for whatever reason can't meet for an initial consult at their home, I suggest going here--beverages on me.    It's the only place like it in Johnstown, which has a plethora of chains and not much in the way of little, chic, community spots.  Fortunately, there's always the Village Street Cafe!!

And if you're lucky, you'll have either Ben or someone else equally as friendly and capable serving up your latte or espresso or (in my case, since I'm not a coffee drinker) Italian Smoothie or steamed milk.  Yum.  

Support our local places!  They're hard to come by around here, and it's up to us to keep 'em going!

Besides, who wouldn't want to go to a place with a sign like this:

Dang.  The bathtub was in the car...

:)

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All images copyright Allegria Images by Lynn Rutz.  Any downloading, copying, or printing without my express permission is prohibited.**

Faces 11: Classics

There was a classic car display at Hilltopper Days.

Some fun old cars.  We liked the hotrods, so why didn't I take a photo of one?  I dunno.  Instead, I have a photo of a turtle sleeping under one.  He had a little hole at the edge of his shell for the chain, which was attached under the bumper, and he was just hangin' out.

Then there was this 1948 Fleetline.  Pretty neat looking.

And as we were ready to leave, here comes this beautiful Cougar.  

Grrrrowl.  

I wish I had a wide angle lens to really get the best out of this car picture  It was as long as a football field!  HA!

Dennis is the owner of this awesome car.  He said it's a great car, as long as it starts...  It obviously started well today, as he was living the good life, cruising along in a classic ride, his lovely girl by his side.  And a plush doggie in the back!  

Oh yeah!

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All images copyright Allegria Images by Lynn Rutz.  Any downloading, copying, or printing without my express permission is prohibited.**

Faces 10: Meet The Jerky Man

Took a jaunt over to Hilltopper Days late this afternoon.  Along the way to the classic cars, we stopped to look at the displays and crafts and things set up.  And that's how we met Rodney!  I asked him about his jerky-making business, and he said that he's just known as the jerky man.  I LIKE this guy so much.  He reminds me a bit of my dad.  There's something about the way he tilts his head, the way he addresses people in a friendly but quiet way,  and how his eyes crinkle when he smiles.  He lives not too far from here, a former dairy farmer,  and he has been making jerky for years and years.

And his jerky is YUUUU-MMY!

So when you go to vendor displays and such things in the area...be on the lookout for Rodney, the jerky man.  Your tastebuds will love you, not to mention you'll be meeting a really nice guy.  

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Faces 9: Laurie

We love Laurie!

Today we went down to the park where we walk Belle every day to take part in a 5K run.  OK.  I walked it.  But Julia ran:

This is Julia about 20 minutes ahead of me.  She's going one direction, heading towards the turn to the finish, and I'm still only halfway done!  I so totally wasn't ready to see her coming toward me, so my camera settings are...not good!

But while I was walking along, this girl came out of the bush to see what the commotion was about (taken quite far away, since I didn't want to disturb her, but I only had a 24-70 lens, which was heavy enough as it was.  So this is cropped within an inch of its life):

OK.  On to Laurie.

Laurie was manning the water/gatorade station.  Her smiling face cheering us on was lovely to behold! She is one of the organizers of the event.  Thanks, Laurie!  We had a great time.  Julia is all ready to do it again next year.

I quite literally took this as I was walking by.  "I'm doing a community faces project.  Do you mind giving us a toast?  THANKS!"  

You see,  I had to get going.  My goal was simply to pass this guy:

If I couldn't get to the finish line before a 3 year old, I think I would have sunk to the ground in abject despair.  I barely made it.  Passed him at the frog pond just down the trail from the finish line!

Where I met Julia.   I shouldn't have watermarked this photo as one I took.  Meryl did the honours on this one.

Then we had lunch and played with Jackson and his sister, Lily.  No pics of Lily.  She was in the stream with the kiddos, going absolutely nutso chasing rocks!

Now we're home.  My legs are wobbly.  But we're off to Hilltopper Days, where I'm hoping to find another stranger or two!

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Faces 8: Meet the gas guys

And I mean that with the highest degree of respect! These guys have been busy all summer replacing the old gas lines in the neighbourhood.  And not just a teensy part of the neighbourhood.  We're talking a massive job covering I don't know how many streets and blocks.  You know when you see two backhoes and a drill and who knows what else (I'm not mechanically minded) on one road that there's some pretty intense work going on, and these are a few of the men doing it.

Personally, I would rather the gas lines were intact and up to date, so even though the neighbourhood has been a bit of a mess this summer, that's the price we have to pay for safety.  So.  Thanks guys, for being the ones bringing us into the 21st century!  I should have asked them how many they're replacing and how old the current lines are, but I didn't.  As it was I had to take these quickly, because the drill was a block away from the hole and drilling away, so they needed to be on top of things so a hole didn't go where it wasn't supposed to.

I edited the photos to look like they'd got a bit of a trip in the mud that was in the hole and the liquidy goo the drill was releasing.  It was...lovely.  But I figured these guys would rather look manly and hard working than bright and sunshiny.  Although if you'd like your photo done with a pretty, pastel tint or something, let me know!  LOL

While Terry, Patrick, Todd, and Scott (above) were slaving away under the hot sun, Joel here was living the life 'o riley under an umbrella.  OK.  He couldn't HEAR anything, what with the machinery and all, but still.  Seriously, though, it's amazing how he could drill a block away from the hole and get it absolutely accurate, and it was interesting to see how they communicated to each other to get the drill going exactly where it needed to be.  It definitely takes a lot of skill.

So now we know the guys doing the gas line work.  If you pass by, bring a glass of something cold.  I'm sure they'd appreciate it!

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FACES

ARGH!  So let me tell you about today.

Went and ran errands this morning.  Brought Belle to Petco to get her nails trimmed and thought I'd get a photo of the gal doing the trimming, but the way it was set up, she and Belle were too far away with the lens I had, not to mention Belle was terrified and shaking like crazy.  So I took pity on them both.  

Then I sat in the Walmart parking lot while the rest of the fam went inside in the hopes of finding a "victim."  Everyone either looked too rushed or too not looking like they'd appreciate a photo being taken of them!  Kind of like I'd be if I was racing into Walmart in my grubbies.  So then off to the university, thinking MAYBE someone would be around there.  And there were!!  And guess what?

They were people we knew...

So home.  Decided to take photos of the workers who have been working on our street, but first there were a few things I needed to do at home.  When I went out to take photos of the guys down the street, they were busy with a big hose in a hole making a HUGE racket, while they were almost frantically doing something with shovels.

Obviously not a good time for a photo!  And it was supper time so I had to race back home.

Then I volunteered to bring J to the church for her activity so I could find SOMEONE!  Dropped her off and thought, "Golly--surely there will be someone coming in or out of the theater."  So off I went.

And parked the car.  And nobody came out, and although two people went in, they didn't give off a very good vibe, so I decided discretion was the better part of valor and retreated.

Then thought, "Starbucks outdoor seating."

And everyone was inside.  On a beautiful evening.  Harumph.

And then the light was gone.

So.  Can't say I didn't make a concerted effort today, and I'll catch up over the next couple of days, and there's going to be a lot going on, so lots of opportunities.  I hope.

In the meantime, here's a photo I posted on Facebook the other day.  If you didn't see it there, well, here it is.  A face for ya!

Faces Day 7

I'm not going to push my loophole (see yesterday) today.  So I'll count this as only one entry instead of two.  Because that's just how I roll.  

Meet Gary and Jim, a couple of Elip Cheatham's friends who were down at Central Park yesterday.

I really like how these shots turned out, I have to say.  

I hope you do as well.

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All images copyright Allegria Images by Lynn Rutz.  Any downloading, copying, or printing without my express permission is prohibited.**

Faces: 5 and 6

Whether you agree with how to officers handled the situation or not, (see story here), it effects the community, so I went downtown to take a picture of the friends and relatives of Elip Cheatham today.  They're upset over a ruling four days ago that the officers will not be found criminal negligible in that fatal shooting.

I'm not going to take sides here, as I feel for everyone in this instance, and my purpose in this project is simply to document people in our community.  I feel for the officers who felt that they needed to do what they did to protect themselves.  Whether it was justified or not, taking a life is something that is going to be hard for them to live with.  But I also feel for those who lost a friend or relative in Elip Cheatham, and can understand their need to do something to express their feelings of loss and anger.

I'll be posting a couple more of their photos tomorrow, since I took too many for one post today.  I said 30 people in 30 days, after all, and didn't specifically say they had to be taken on consecutive days.  How's that for a loophole?

OK.  Here's the group:

This is Katherine-Anne.  She was interesting to talk with.  She told me about her name, how in the villages in Ireland every girl seems to be named Katherine (Kate, Kat, Kitty...), so the parents tack on an extra name to tell all the girls apart!

And this is Katrina, who lost her uncle in the shooting.

It's easy for people to judge, whether to judge the police or judge Elip.  But behind every policeman and every Elip, there's the face of a family member or friend who is left dealing with consequences and loss, and my heart goes out to them as they struggle to come to terms with what happened that day.

Tomorrow?  Gary and Jim.  Sorry guys--can you be patient for another day?  :)  I promise it'll be worth the wait--the photos look great!

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30Faces Day 4: Hi David!

Meet Dave.  We had such a good visit this afternoon!  Dave operates the historic Inclined Plane in Johnstown.

(For more info about the Inclined Plane, go here.  Interesting stuff!)

I love going over there and sitting on the bench or looking out over the valley, and people like Dave are why it's such an enjoyable place to park oneself for a spell.

I asked him a little bit about himself.  After he was in the military (hehe--you should see his tattoo!  He says if he did it again he would get something a little more...sedate!), he worked in the steel mills for a number of years, and when that closed down he shaved and made himself presentable and sold cars until he retired.  We talked about the Incline, where he has worked part-time for about 1-1/2 years.  He calls it his "getting away from the wife" time, which I suppose when you're retired and with each other ALL THE TIME is a necessary part of one's mental health!  HA!  He's so knowledgable and friendly, and I enjoyed his stories.  He told me how he teases the kids and messes around by asking them to open the gate, but secretly making it appear that it only opens when they say the magic word.  I could tell that he's really good at what he does and enjoys it a lot, and he makes the ride a fun experience for everyone.

I thought I knew the whole Inclined Plane story, after being here for this long, but there's always something to learn.  I didn't know that when the Incline was first built, it was mostly farmland up in Westmont, and they hauled livestock up and down the hillside.  The livestock went on the top platform of the cars (back in those days, each tram car had two levels), and the people were on the bottom.  Obviously whoever designed it was from the city and didn't think of the consequences to the people below of having cows overhead!  Around 1920, the cars were remodeled to one level with space for two Model T's and a little lounge (for want of a better word) for foot passengers.

I think I'm going to go down there and visit him again!

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30-Days 3: Brittany

My favorite ice cream place.  Yum!  And one of my favorite flavours today--coconut/chocolate twist.  

Sigh!

It must be the week of tie-dyed shirts, coz I just noticed Brittany is wearing one, as was Autumn yesterday.  She was really approachable and readily agreed to have her photo taken.  I wish everyone was as nice as Brittany!  Unfortunately, although nobody was there when we drove up, as soon as I asked her for her photo, some people lined up behind us, so this isn't exactly as I would have set it up if I had the time.  But that's what this is all about--photographing under pressure, and I think it still turned out kinda cute, especially with only taking one shot!  

Helps to have a nice looking, friendly model, too.

So thanks, Brittany, for serving us my favourite ice cream and allowing me to take your photo.

You rock!

~~~~~

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30-Days: Meet Autumn

The lovely Autumn works at my absolute favorite place to buy fruit.  

I loved her shirt today, and she seemed nice, so was hoping she's say yes when I asked if I could take her photo.

And she did!  YAY!

The kids were in the car, so I couldn't take time to get to know her at all, but she was really sweet.  And now when I go buy fruit, I'll know someone who works there!

So thanks, Autumn, for being a part of my project.  I'll wave and say hi next time I'm in to buy peaches.  :)

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30 Days Day 1--Whew!

Inspired by Caroline at Constantly Evolving, I decided to finally try a 30-Day portrait project.  I love taking photos of people--LOVE IT.  But I needed to give myself a bit of a boost--a reason to start carrying my camera around everywhere I go again after the 365 project a couple of years ago.  I wanted to stretch myself, improve my skills, and meet interesting people in the community.  I should have started at the beginning of August, but frankly I was a chicken.  Bawk.

Those of you who know me know that although I'm a-ok with clients and friends and can be goofy and friendly with people I know or who have asked me to take their picture, I'm pretty reserved otherwise.  The idea of going up to complete strangers and asking to take their photo scared me.  Scares me.  Knees knocking.  Sweats.  Face turning red.  Oh yeah.  It's not a pretty picture.

But since I told everyone on Facebook last week that I was going to do this, what could be done?  So away I went.

First to the fire station, but nobody was around.  Dang.  Then to Central Park downtown, where I took a photo of the fountain while trying to build up the nerve to talk to a group of old guys commiserating.  They were great guys--friendly and funny with great laugh lines built through years of living--but they didn't want to get their photos done.  They were seniors, and when I mentioned "blog," they didn't want anything to do with that newfangled stuff!  But they were fun to meet.

Then I drove around scoping people, feeling a bit like a stalker, I'm afraid.  Then thought I'd go take a photo of the Incline Plane operator.  But he was looking pretty busy.

So then, last ditch effort, back to the firehall.

And someone came up the stairs!!  YAY!  Told me to head downstairs, and one of the guys for sure wouldn't mind.  My legs were shaking so much that I thought I'd probably fall down the stairs, and rather than getting their photos done, they'd be giving ME first aid.  I suppose there are worse places to break something.  But thankfully, all went well, the guys went along with the idea, and I was able to get the first photos of the project.

So meet Randy and Dave.  Who saved the first day and perhaps the whole shebang.

Here they are looking oh so serious.

And one with the shades, coz it just had to be done!  Decided to process it kinda cool and grainy.

Thanks guys!  You made my day!

~~~~~

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Yes, I'm going out to take a photo of a stranger to start my 30-Day Portrait Project, but before I go do that, I had to post this photo of the sun starting to go down on our picnic the other day.  Such a great time with Meryl's Aunt Betty and all of those cousins!  The chicken was great!  Just a note, though--don't go in the water ANYWHERE but the roped off swimming area.  Even though the lake is huge and, for someone used to being able to swim in a lake that has tons of fishing, safe--I guess that's against the rules...

But at least I had fun with the kids and Belle in the water long before the ranger showed up.  

:P

OK.  Here's the shot.  Loving the sun flare.  

*sigh of photographic blissfulness*