Morning Ride

This morning I had to take my kid to a birthday party. While he was there I drove around the area looking for potential pictures. What I found were these fine folks out enjoying a cool brisk day by going riding. Having a couple of cats, I can only imagine the amount of work that must involved in keeping a horse. That's got to be a pretty big responsibility. Personally, horses and myself don't seem to get along too well. Not that I have anything against them, they just don't seem to like me that much (although one could say that's also true of a fair number of people, so maybe it's me and not the horses).

Bluesman in Charlottesville

Even just sitting in a park, this fella kept his cool.

Busy blurs

Wait-staff work so hard! They wouldn't stay still long enough to show up in my photo.

Driven

In North Carolina many horticulturalists take the Certified Landscape Technician Exam in order to document their skills and expertise in 22 areas ranging from plant identification and pruning to pesticide application and skid-steer operation. The intense exam takes place over two days. In this event a bucket of soil must be delivered over a 10 ft barrier without dislodging a horizontal pole. From a distance the set up looks similar to the pole vault event in track and field.

An unbelievably unbusy day

Considering Christmas is right around the corner, I figured Home Depot would be a little more of a zoo than it was today. It was emptier today than it is at 7:00am on a Monday. I guess everybody must have already gotten all of their shopping done.

In any case, I love to people watch at places like Home Depot.

Christmas strangers...

In San Francisco, there is no better place to catch Strangers at their merriest than on the cable cars. 365-days a year, the cars between Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf are packed full...and at Christmas, the tourists are just a touch bit jollier.

The joy of a good story

Who do you think is having more fun here, the kids, or the lady reading the story?

One Christmas Tree To Go

Don't even get me started on how much Christmas trees cost these days. We actually waited until they went on sale for 30% off before we got our tree this year. Anyway, these fine folks helped transport the tree from the rows of trees where we picked it out to the chopping area where it got all bundled up for us to tie to the top of the car and drive it home. It's just like in the old days, except I didn't go to the woods to get it, I didn't cut it, I had to pay someone for it, and there was no snow to be found anywhere (since it was in the high 60s in mid December). But other than that, it's basically the same ritual that has been going on for centuries.

Holiday madness...

Not all Strangers are photogenic. Some Strangers are just around. Still, there is something utterly NORMAL about these shots. Who amongst us hasn't had an unflattering pose?

A Man... and his Owl

I really love this photo. There's so much to like about it. First, there's this rough and tumble Scotsman, tattooed arms and all, and yet, he is tending to his pet owl with such tenderness. Look at the expression in his face. Yes, I really love this photo.

Pull me a pint, please!

Sometimes, all you need is a good beer.

Post-Katrina Construction

The thirty-ninth President of the U.S. worked in the Habitat for Humanity New Orleans Area Musicians' Village over the weekend. I don't know if he is a qualified stranger, but I thought that to capture his effort to raise and plumb a wall and then to show the number of strangers that help portray this moment of serenity was interesting -- at least to me.

Polka! Polka! Polka!

Wow, my first post on Strangers. Thanks, James and Buddy, for adding me to the club.

Since a few of the recent posts have been musician related, I dug into my archives and found this one of two German men playing a little Bavarian folk music. This photo was taken in Schliersee, Germany, in July 2005.

St. John's Church...

This guide spun a captivating story over the course of 30min. She was our docent through the historic St. John's Church in Richmond. She had a gift for slipping in and out of character as she lead through the early history of the city, including Patrick Henry's famous "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech prior to the Revolutionary War.

Play Us A Song

I assume these two were hired by the local mall to stand around and sing during the holiday season. Either that or they really like dressing up and taking their show on the road. I never got to hear them perform, they were either just setting up or between performances and were chatting up some people when I took this shot. They did look very classy.

That's A Lot Of Strangers

Here we see the shoppers in their natural habitat. It appears they've congregated around a watering hole (a.k.a. Starbucks). Watch as they gather around the watering hole at a mall hoping to acquire a bit of that sweet nectar to give them the strength to go shop some more. Notice the patience as they stand rooted in place, barely moving until they have their chance to pounce and acquire their drinks.

Ok, enough of the fake nature channel commentary. It's been a while since I've double dipped and posted the same image to multiple blogs. So while this isn't technically a shot of just one or two Strangers, it is a post of a lot of Strangers, so I figure that will do since we appear to be entering a Holiday slump here. Beware, you could be trapped in this if you try and go to a mall on a weekend in December. It's chaos!

Coming together...

In the next couple of years, one of the unique features of Washington Dulles Airport will disappear. Gone will be the mobile lounges that carry travelers from the main terminal to all of the mid-field gates. I will miss them...not for their debatable efficiency...but for the way they bring travelers from all points of origin together for a 5 min ride among the planes. You can find people lost in their own worlds, or sharing the uncommon view through bright sunny windows.