What’s written in a face? After seeing Leila’s image one person wrote, “Thank you. I saw it as I nursed my black daughter. I felt so moved.” Another wrote, “The pride on her face and the love in her eyes! That is a young woman seeing that ANYTHING she wants for herself is possible.”
A black and white image I took of my brother almost fifty years ago. He’s holding his firstborn child, Ryan, on a camping trip at Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. His face writes the story.
Expressions aren’t taught. Intensity, focus, attentiveness…all comes from within.
Isla knows what she’s all about. It isn’t just her face. Women (girls) tell stories with their faces, amplifying the messages with head tilts and gestures.
“Fat Jack” was the oldest member of the Sonoma County Hells Angels. I photographed him and his granddaughter at Rowdy Rick’s funeral in 1978. The look on the little girl’s face reflects her feelings.
The eloquence of the face of the reindeer, not wanting to be a reindeer.
The face of an unwelcome loss in judo.
None of the portraits in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington depict smiles. If in a photograph or a painting the artist portrays “the face in repose” he is opening the door to the hidden worlds behind the face. Here are two photos of Hazel, her face in repose.
Even at age 3…
A face not in repose, telling a story.
Covered faces tell stories, too. A Trump supporter at a rally and a member of the loyal opposition—antifa.
A beautiful Japanese girl discovering that an old white American man, without asking permission, is stealing her soul. Her face responds.
I often ask permission. I saw this lady in a Peets coffee house in Berkeley. Her face doesn’t just tell a story. It’s a novel, an encyclopedia, a lengthy and compelling history.
Some people change their faces to express themselves. Here’s Jewell Brown, a client we served at the Berkeley Food Pantry.
The face of the Sikh reflects his culture and tradition. The girl matched the color of her glasses with her hair, added four piercings. Her face reflects how she wants to see and be seen.
Tim was sitting in an outdoor coffee shop on Market Street. He is a devoteé of Iris Apfel, photographed on the right, a 101 year old designer whose face and style have netted her over twenty million dollars.
Ending this with the face of joy, pure, unadulterated, unconditional joy.
P.S. The faces of animals tell stories, too.
