New Contexts.

 I like to see people I already know, in new contexts. My earliest experiences of this was as a school kid seeing teachers outside of the classroom -say grocery shopping, or holding a baby at the mall. The jolt of familiar with unfamiliar is fun for me.

In this case, I met this woman in ballet context. First in a practice studio, then on stage in a dress rehearsal. A really beautiful, elegant, strong dancer. And, she's a mom! She wears normal street clothes, not leotards all the time. Had I had met her simply through family photography, it would never have occurred to me that she might be an awesome dancer. And while on stage, I never thought about her being a mom. These juxtapositions are what makes people interesting.

SO hard to get her little boy to smile. He only smiled for his parents, and when he forgot that I existed. These were taken at Alamo Square, which is a park encompassing a hillside. I've discovered that small children can't put on breaks when running downhill, and babies learning to walk or sit up will likely tilt over and faceplant if on a slope. Must seek out the flatter areas of the park, even though the hillsides are photogenic!

We dog owners in the neighborhood know each other by sight, and give each other a friendly nod in passing. Just happened to stop to chat to a German Shepherd owner, a barrel-shaped older Asian guy, wears drab-ish clothes and smokes all the time. He said he was off to vacation in Ukraine the next day, so I asked Why Ukraine? And he began: Well... I used to be a part of a Russian Ballroom Dance Company in my younger days... Juxapositions, I tell you! It just takes a little digging and often people turn out to be way more interesting than at first glance.