Lana

I went to Lana's house in Lynn, Massachusetts, on Monday. It was the first shoot I went on alone, and I was happy to have successfully navigated my way. The only issue was that the apartment building and street were not labeled, but the clerk at a local drycleaner sorted that confusion out for me.

When I arrived the apartment smelled delicious, like chocolate. Lana had baked brownies. She was excited to offer me one, and her eagerness led me to assume she'd made them for my visit. When I later told Ann about the brownies, her eyes swelled up because she was so touched.

Lana had moved into her apartment from Old Colony in Southie in the beginning of January. She got the affirmative phone call about the apartment lead while we were at the inauguration of Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts. It was special to see the space that I had heard her proudly talk about.

Lana's partner Jose, who works as a cashier at Dunkin Donuts, was very involved in my visit. He socialized with Lana and I and helped me bring my equipment back to the car. He asked me about Duke, and told me that he knew things about the basketball team because he had seen the NCAA tournament before. I thought it was sweet of him to make conversation with me. Ann was also touched by Jose's reference to Duke as she said it really represented him reaching out.

Up until that point, I had only photographed one other man in the process of making these family portraits. (And the first is no longer involved in the lives of the mother and child, so I plan to re-take that portrait next week.) Each of the photographs I have posted here and hope to use in my final work has a unique quality that makes it special to me. In the image of Lana, Jose, and Jayden I am drawn to the way Jayden is gently touching his father's face.