For the past couple of weeks, I shared some of my favorite film landscapes and referred to some people I’ve met along the way. In our workshops, we concentrate on landscapes, but often, our participants photograph people, usually fellow students.

People can be put into a landscape or be a landscape in themselves. Composition is just as important in photographing people as it is any other subject. And anyone who comes to our workshops and wants to photograph people, remember, Arnie started out photographing with LIFE; John does beautiful studio work; and my portraits have been published widely. Now, to some photographs of people and the stories that go with them …

Many years ago, I was given an assignment to do some travel photography on the coast of New Hampshire. For those who don’t know, New Hampshire probably has the shortest coastline in captivity, a mere ten miles total! Like “Blue Railing” from last week’s article, I was looking for quintessential material as well as the more common beach scenes, etc. The New Hampshire coast has quite a bit of variety, so I headed to one of the popular beach areas that had a combination of honkey tonk, beautiful curved beaches, and rocks.

When one thinks of any coastline, one thinks of families vacationing, relaxing, and exploring, particularly kids. There were some nice ledges at the water’s edge that I figured could make a neutral, graphic background for whatever subjects I found.

Two kids with a lime-green pail were looking for goodies amongst the rocks. Their parents were nearby, so I chatted with them for a bit before telling them why I was there and asking permission to photograph what turned out to be twins, a girl and a boy.

As we were standing there, the children found a treasure and popped it into the bucket. We couldn’t see what it was. I hot-footed it over, but they had the bucket opening facing them. I quickly found a pleasing composition with the patterns of the rocks running diagonally behind them, echoing their own positions. I waited, but they still had the bucket facing them.

Inspiration struck.

“What do you have there?”

They tipped the bucket toward me so I could see that it was a crab. They were looking at me, and while I got some great shots of their happy, smiling faces, it wasn’t really the shot I wanted.

“Oh,” I exclaimed with an intake of breath, “What’s it doing?”

They looked down intently, and before they tipped the bucket back towards them, I was able to get this shot. I can’t tell you how often it has been published!

Those of you who have been following this blog, know I have a history of traveling. This particular trip saw me heading down through the St. Vincent Grenadines (remember “Still Hulls” from last week?) You also read about Timothy, one of the model boat builders with his sculpted, muscular arms.

Having finished my photographs of the shop and the model boats, I asked Timothy if I might photograph him. He agreed, so I set about finding a suitable backdrop for him. His skin was so dark, and the boat was so white that I needed a place that would set both off.

Right around the shop, there was a lot of dark wood that would engulf and hide Timothy’s striking presence. I was getting frustrated until I came around a corner and found a red door against a white, stucco wall. It was perfect. Neither Timothy nor the model boat would get lost. Timothy would stand out against the red and white, and the boat and its mast would look great against the white wall.

Timothy was great, as the position of the boat and mast was critical in the shot. I didn’t want the mast vertical, yet I also didn’t want it to get lost in the red door. Again, this photograph has been published many times.

I was photographing a spring festival on one of the Massachusetts islands. The daffodils were in bloom and provided a beautiful contrast to the weathered silver of the shingled houses and cottages. As I meandered on roads across the island, I came across a small greenhouse and flower stand. A man in a red plain flannel shirt was tending lush trays of pansies. It was irresistable. I stopped.

My flower vendor was quite shy and could not imagine why I would want to photograph him. He was even a bit embarrassed. I described what I envisioned, and after a big of gentle cajoling, he agreed. I asked him to stand in front of the greenhouse with his hanging pots inside offering a subtle bit of color.

His shy smile was engaging, and when he tipped the tray like this, I got the shot I wanted. Later, I sent him a copy of the photograph. Remember, this was in the days of film, so you didn’t get to see what you had done until it came back from the lab. It has been oft published, and I hope he liked it as much as I did.

Last week, you also saw “Fence Laundry” and read the story behind that photograph in which I mentioned Dave. Chief Dave Beautiful Bald Eagle is a leader not only of his people, the Lakota Sioux, but at the time, he was also president of the Plains Indians. His grandfather was the great Chief White Bull of Little Big Horn fame. He worked tirelessly to promote the rights of native peoples and keep the young ones from getting into alcohol and drugs. He has also appeared in numerous films, including Dances with Wolves.

I was on one of my cross-country treks, when I met up with another traveler and his family. We had been taking turns in the lead on one of the northern highways. He had noticed my unusual turqoise jewelry. I had seen his dream catcher. They were headed to South Dakota and invited me to join them.

We arrived at a lodge, and I got to talking with Dave, not knowing anything about his accomplishments and fascinating history. He was a paratrooper and Indian codetalker (they used the various Sioux dialects that the enemy could not understand, let alone decode) during WW II, a professional dancer, a competitor in rodeos, a performer in a wild-west show in Europe, and an actor, all this in addition to what he has done in more recent decades.

Our conversation was animated, and when he said he was going to get up early and go for a walk, I asked him if he would like company or prefer to go alone. He said he would be happy for the company, so at four o’clock, we met and started across the plains. I asked what this or that plant was, and Dave said he wasn’t much good at those names, but that his wife Josée, whom he kept saying I needed to meet, would. I remarked with delight on the backlit fox tails, the swaying of the grasses, and the wonderful smell of the fresh-cut hay or wild onions in the grass as we passed through.

“Hmmm,” he would respond, sharing in my appreciation. I later found out that in the myriad of accidents he had in the rodeo and wild-west show, he had lost his sense of smell, but he was living it through my descriptions. He was enjoying the early-morning aromas of his people’s land as I was.

I am always sensitive to cultures that generally avoid being on the lens side of the camera, so with a bit of respectful caution, I asked Dave if he would mind if I did his portrait. He looked so handsome in his hat and beautifully decorated leather vest. His face was wonderfully weathered and strong.

“Washte,” he answered (it is good), “I would like that. Where do you want me?”

Much of Lakota land lies under the watchful of of Bear Butte, sacred not only to the Sioux, but the Northern Cheyenne, as well. The people hold their vision quests there, and to me, it is a magical and wondrous place. Every time I see Bear Butte, I see a sleeping giant, a kind spirit, eyes closed, resting for a bit.

“Let’s go over by Bear Butte,” I said, “That is, if it is alright to photograph it in the background.”

“You are with me; it is fine.”

It was the perfect backdrop for Dave in the gorgeous light of early morning. The sun glinted off the leather of his vest, it graced the grasslands behind him, and it gave wonderful definition to his face.

Since that time, I made more photographs of Dave, Josée and him together, their ranch at which I have been their guests, but this has always been my favorite. While I have used it, I have never offered it for sale. It is a personal portrait of a dear friend whom I rarely see. On the occasions we do see each other, we pick up where we left off. In fact, I just got off the phone with Josée, and we giggled and laughed and remembered as we did the last time we chatted some years back. Washte.

Next week, I’ll post a few more portraits and their stories. I still enjoy looking at these photographs and remembering what went into their making.

Upcoming workshops: Arches & Moab (UT); New England Fall Foliage (NH & VT); and Lighthouses of the Outer Banks (NC). For more information, go to our Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures website.

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