It’s been awhile since the last show and tell post, but judging by the joy brought on by this little thrift store gem, hopefully show and tell will be happening more often.

Photographer Alwyn Scott Turner reminds us how portraits can be an honest depiction of a character, versus a rehearsed arrangement of people. The images are simple and real; we can’t stop looking at them. While I was photographing the pages, a homeless man walked over to ask what I was doing. He amused me with made-up stories of how he knew the people in the photos mentioning one guy was his buddy growing up. More awkwardly that I should, “Stop being pretty! That’s a direct order!” And continued to give other passers by direct orders. The last photo is of him, in all his genuine glory. Maybe we’ll meet again and I can thank him for inspiring a new desire to photograph the ordinary.

As Turner said, “Most photographers are interested in the bizarre, the off-beat, the unpredictable. But for me the most fascinating subject is also the most obvious: the American people.” That was in 1971, but we feel it still applies today.