Picture This...

So the local coffee joint (a very cool, crunchy granola, mom'n pop place) allows local artisan types to sign up for 1 month of wall space at no charge.

It's also worth mentioning that this "coffee bar" was, undoubtedly, originally built to be a regular sort of bar. One wall is bare brick face, the other houses an envious bar, complete with stools and kick rail, that runs the entire length of the building.

Several weeks ago I happened to be chatting with the owner and proprietor of the place, Mike. Talk turned to photography. I mentioned my fledgling portrait business and - blam - Mike told me about this awesome way that the shop helps local artists out.

So today was the day to put up my wall for the month of August. Which I did. 10 of my favorite pieces of work, neatly (and symmetrically!) now hang against the several-hundred-year-old brick wall.

I have only shown my work to a very few people. I have never displayed anything I have created for general public consumption before, with the exception of the poem that won me an award in the fifth grade. I got my picture in the paper with the other regional winners, and my poem published in the local paper. I was, of course, mortified.

I know, given the fact that you are now reading this blog - wherein I lay open my most humiliating and personal thoughts and experiences for the world to see - it may seem like a bit of a contradiction for me to say that I am hesitant to put my work out there for critique by the masses. I have no explanation for this phenomenon, other than to say that I don't usually run into strangers who know me from this blog. When it does happen, my reaction is generally to get exquisitely, painfully self-conscious, and escape as quickly as possible. Go figure.

SO. My photos are now up, along with a flier detailing the number and email address at which I may be reached to schedule a photo session. If the reaction of the regulars and staff at the coffee shop is any indication, maybe this won't be so bad after all. At least nobody threw up. That's a good sign, right?