We Live Here, Too #2

This weekend I photographed Joe and Eric on Saturday and Connie on Sunday. I was suppose to photograph some more folks, but illness has fallen over Bend, and I will get to photograph them another day.

Connie took me through the neighborhood she grew up, just off Newport Ave, near Brooks Park. We went to one of her favorite spots along the river, just steps from the house she grew up in. This little nook, with the giant willow tree was a treasure for her growing up. Back then, she said, there were no fences and you could just run up and down the river, where now there are houses. I liked the way she described it, "Back then, everything was free."

Joe and Eric took me to the Welcome to Bend sign, the thing Joe felt was so beautiful when he first got here, because it announced that he was here. Eric grew up in Bend. He and Joe met in NYC and then Joe moved here to be with Eric. That's love. Having lived in NYC myself, I could see how that transition is a big one. Bend is like the wild west in comparison. One of my favorite things Joe said was how he liked that everyone here has a "How I got to Bend" story. That's how he feels connected to his community. He's right. We do all share that story. The stories are different, but they are all similar, in the sense that maybe we found a home when we got here or maybe a home inadvertantly found us.

We Live Here, Too #1

I began photographing the We Live Here, Too participants today. So far, I am learning that my own community is bigger than I thought. That's a nice feeling.

Today I was able to hang out with two couples that made me feel a little better about the world than I've been feeling in the past few years. That's a pretty nice feeling, too.

We Live Here, Too

A portrait series of the LGBTQ community, their friends, family and allies living in Central Oregon.
This is the project I am starting today in collaboration with the Human Dignity Coalition. Please keep yours eyes and ears open for the rest of this adventure in print and on radio. The final show will be on display for the Dignity Awards at The Mirror Pond Gallery, May 1. The project will then be on display at tdb Loft for the month of June.