This week has been a breakthrough for me. I've finally gotten to the point that I'm comfortable presenting myself as a "community" photographer. I have also managed to take pictures of people that they like. Some people are still very suspicious. One gentleman I met on Easter Sunday was wearing an incredible white suit. I just had to ask him if I could photograph him. I pulled my car over, jumped out. He told me the neighborhood was bad and if I took his picture some people might use it against him. I couldn't imagine what I might capture in the picture with him that would be incriminating, but I had to accept no for an answer. It was fun asking anyway. I've come to expect a certain number of rejections, but they have been fewer than I expected. As I've gotten to know more people on some blocks and have gifted pictures back to people, I have more people actually asking me to take their pictures.

Today I had a great conversation with a man who came north from Alabama decades ago--30 or 4o years. He remebers picking cotton as a boy and leaving home at the age my daughter is now. I can't help thinking of the lost boys of Sudan and their global migration. It's fun getting to knowt people so unlike me and to share stories. I always try to tell a story about myself and my family too. Today I shared the story of my grandfather and his apple peddling in the outlying areas where there aren't as many apples as there are in Lafayette. They shared stories with me of working for Bird's Eye in Fulton and picking in the fields north of here, potatoes, onions. And then they talked about music and songs too. Here are a few shots from today.