By Guest Author
Published: January 1, 2001
Updated: 2 weeks ago

The Faces of Everyday Life

Editor’s Note: These photographs may look old-fashioned now, but when we first started posting photos most images were scanned in from film negatives, which have a very different color gamut than digital, and the resolution on the internet was very poor. Images needed to be only a few kilobytes so that you could download them with a phone modem; now they are hundreds of times bigger. Learn more about our original film photographs.

If you like this pictorial, you’ll enjoy a story by Cheryl. A Traveler Honors Her Soul.

Photo Pictorial By Cheryl Friedman

I’ve found that many times I go through my day without absorbing the people around me — you know, the cashier at the register, the man next to me on the bus, the woman in the elevator, etc. I also realize that if I take just a minute to acknowledge my environment, there are some truly funny, quirky, interesting and amazing people out there. This pictorial is a small snapshot of some of the people I’ve encountered. I hope to inspire you to think about who you encounter in your day-to-day meanderings.

Color

Pictorial Cheryl Friedman 01 powerade — Powerade. A little boy with a Powerade cap in Mouth: This shot was taken at the tennis finals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. While all the adults were watching the intense tennis match, this little boy was finding the simple joy in playing with his Powerade cap.

Pictorial Cheryl Friedman 02 silhouette — Silhouette. I was on my way to a friend’s wedding in Lake Maggiore, Italy and stopped to stretch my legs. When I saw this man, his profile struck me as quintessential “Italian.” I loved his stature juxtaposed against the crooked fence. The icing on the cake was the sun beaming perfectly on the sailboat in the background.

Pictorial Cheryl Friedman 03 dishwasher — Dishwasher. I am fascinated with Savannah, GA. After reading the book, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” I had to go to Clary’s diner. I walked around back and saw this dishwasher taking a break. The sun was hitting his smiling face perfectly.

Pictorial Cheryl Friedman 04 rearview mirror — Rearview mirror. I was at a drive-thru in Georgia and saw this old woman in my rearview mirror in a very old car behind me. She had the greatest gruff, sourpuss face and I had to capture it. So I cautiously raised my camera to my side rearview mirror so she wouldn’t see me, and without even looking through the viewfinder, shot this picture.

Pictorial Cheryl Friedman 05 rockstar — Rockstar. This was shot at 2 AM in a small rock club in Quebec City, Canada. What I love about this shot, aside from the dreadlocks, is that if you look closely, the blur of the picture actually creates tiny neon musical notes.

Pictorial Cheryl Friedman 06 family — I was at a stop light in Savannah, GA, and turned my head to the left and saw this father with his two boys in front of a dime store. The one boy was making the cutest faces and I had to capture it. Fortunately, I had my camera in my front seat, so I grabbed it and shot this before the stoplight turned green.

Black and white photos

Pictorial Cheryl Friedman 07 dogpark — Dog park. This was shot at the Dog Park on West 79th St.. in NYC. She was there with her father and dog enjoying the day. I shot her from the outside of the fence. I particularly loved the natural lighting on her.

Pictorial Cheryl Friedman 08 subway — Subway. This was shot on the “D” train in NYC as it was moving, coming down from the Bronx on a Sunday morning. This couple, probably in their 70s, was dressed to the nines for Sunday church — as you can see from her Sunday bonnet. The truly unique aspect of this shot is there is absolutely no advertising on the inside of the subway car making this shot timeless — I’ve never seen that before or since.

Pictorial Cheryl Friedman 10 dean and deluca — Coffee shop. This shot is quintessential New York City. Shot in Soho, it captures the intensity and eclectic nature of the people who live and survive in NYC. The reflection is interesting because you’re not quite sure who is inside the store, and who is walking on the street.

Guest Author

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Bicycle Buttons

As a bicyclist and a very creative person, I wanted to add something to my travels and created the velobotones — small bikes made of wire and colorful buttons.