After a 2 year delay, Danee and I finally got together at the 11th hour for a portrait. She was practically already on the road for a big move but was more than happy to swing by my humble garage-based studio for a chiaroscuro. Danee is a top Brownsville export, so you better appreciate her, Ohio! Teacher, advocate, and overall great listener and friend. I’m so honored to capture my townsfolk.
My chiaroscuro portrait of my grandfather, who passed away last week. He was many things throughout his life: a hair stylist, a painter, a diner owner. His mind stayed sharp but he had let his body go, something he cautioned me about a few Thanksgivings ago. He was always very frank, expressing to me the emotional trials of aging (he hated how skin eventually got crêpey for example). I share all this because I think it’s rare for men of that generation to be so vulnerably insecure, talking to his granddaughter like a regular friend. He always liked beautiful things and was particular moved by western indigenous art. This portrait was taken with 1 light, relatively on the fly, when he was feeling up for a portrait. He was pleased his granddaughters became artists (my sister is a comic artist).
Alexandria Huff Photography 