I used to say I would “never” take pictures of people. I said that a lot. I believed it, too. In fact, I would actively avoid shooting scenes with people in them. There were a lot of reasons, but mostly (probably) I was just too nervous to try.

And then…well, then I met up with Don Toothaker and he spent a good bit of time over the past couple of years telling me that I needed to get over my damn self and take pictures of people already. (That’s paraphrasing. Possible.) Anyway, then he led a photography tour of Sicily and I started photographing people. You’ve seen some of those images here, maybe. I was pretty happy with myself for overcoming a barrier that I’d set for myself (which, honestly, is the way most of my barriers are: set by me, without any real reason for their establishment).

But then, pressing the point, Don pretty much told me to make a portrait of this man. Don had already made his photos, and all I had to do was stand where he did and press the shutter release.

And here we are. Sometimes, I barely recognize the photographer that I am becoming.

Ragusa Ibla, Sicily
photographed 9.7.2022