Portrait of Quiddy

I was wondering what I could possibly put up for Q for this week’s Wordless Wednesday, since everything I post this year is a portrait, I would need either a person who had a name starting with Q or participated in an occupation starting with Q.

I was at Walmart, taking pictures of the actual Walmart store-front, for another project, when I saw a young woman playing guitar. I went over to her and asked if I could take her picture and she said, “okay.” So I did.

During the interview, I asked Quiddy for her name and she gave me her real name but then decided to give me her nickname because that’s what everyone calls her. You should have seen my face when I found out that it started with a Q.

Quiddy played guitar and sang. She explained that she practiced for stage performances by practicing in front of various stores. She called it busking.

Quiddy said that on that particular Sunday, when I met her, she and her girlfriend were busking from one Walmart to another, all around Antelope Valley, or as she called it, “ubering around from one grocery store to another.”

Quiddy had been playing guitar since she was a little kid. She played country music and blues. I asked her if she was dressed the way you see her dressed in the picture because of the cliche of The Blues Brothers and she said, “No. This is how I dress. This is how I dress everyday. This is my look. This is my existence.”

I decided to stylize this picture this way because I thought it would look good on a poster for an underground Blues Nightclub. I hope Quiddy likes it and it represents her and her music.

Posted on:

21-Q by Roger

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No, seriously: BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin ©2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Christopher

 

Christopher was unemployed because he had medical problems. About a year prior to this interview, he had a valve placed in his heart. He also had issues with his kidneys. He was getting better, though.

Christopher said this was a rough time in his life. Prior to having health problems, he was a tree trimmer for fifteen years.

Christopher grew up in San Fernando Valley, California, USA, but had been living in Antelope Valley for about five years. He met a woman and he moved to live with her.

When Christopher’s health declined, so did his relationship, and they split up.

Christopher claimed, “I’m kind of a quiet guy.”

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin © 2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Carole

Most of the people that I included in my portrait project have been total strangers. Because of this, a lot of people that know me ask, “How can you walk up to somebody and just ask them if you can take their picture?”

I tell them, “That’s just what I do.” It’s not really that hard. Friends ask about rejection and I tell them I get rejected at least 67% of the time. At this point, I can even identify those who will say no before I even ask.

On the other hand, Carole, is somebody I know well. Carole used to live close by, but moved out of Antelope Valley, so I don’t get to see her anymore. However, since she was the founder of Lancaster Bark at the Park, once a year, she comes back to Lancaster, California, USA to run the Bark in the Park event.

I know Carole because she helped me train my dogs. She not only was my trainer for basic obedience, but also was my trainer for pet therapy. I used to have a dog Hector who Carole tested for the pet therapy program. Then she also trained us to be a pet therapy team. After Hector and I got into the program, she monitored our progress as volunteers and transitioned us into volunteering at the local hospital.

When Hector died, Carole was the first person I called, and she said the most kind and encouraging words. I think of these words whenever I miss Hector. I have not participated in Pet Therapy since.

Carole is such an amazing person not only because of what she does for dogs and the whole canine community, but also how she helps people in hospitals by training so many human/canine teams to visit in the most safe and healthy manner.

When Carole taught class, her philosophy was to make the dogs and their human companions compatible to society such that the people who didn’t like dogs would still be comfortable to have dogs within civilization

I can’t thank Carole enough; not only for everything she’s done for me personally, but everything she’s done for the community and for dogs in general.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin ©2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Phillip

Philip was the manager of a pumpkin patch and Christmas tree lot . He had thirty employees. He was was planning to tear down the pumpkin patch on November first which was an anniversary for him. He explained, “fifty-seven years with this charming lady here.”

In the United States, seasonal pumpkin patches open before Halloween. They furnish carnival type rides, petting zoos and lots of pumpkins from which to choose.

After November first, Phillip would be displaying and selling trees from North Carolina, Washington and Oregon which would be for sale as Christmas decorations.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin ©2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Amanda-2

Amanda and her father, together, participated in selling hot dogs and sandwiches  for thirteen years. They started their business with a hot dog cart. The year of this interview was the first time Amanda and her father had a booth.

Amanda liked to do any type of event, such as baseball games and any local events. You can find Amanda and her father on facebook @ Big Daddy’s Concessions.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin ©2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Mason

Jason was four years old. He liked to play with cars, trucks and iPads.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin ©2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Austin

Austin Participating in Carnival Fair Bungee Jumping

Austin was twelve years old. His favorite subject in school was math. He wanted to study architectural engineering when he grew up.

Austin did “very well in school,” his mother told me.  He played baseball; he was a pitcher and also played first base.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin ©2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Grace

Grace was an officer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and was stationed in Lancaster, California, USA. She had been an officer for five years at the time of our meeting and decided to become a police officer because she liked to help people.

I met her at a ceremony memorializing the death of police officer Sgt. Steve Owen. They had renamed a popular park in Lancaster in his name. Grace, other officers, some local officials and various citizens assembled to honor Sgt. Owen.

It was very sad because At the time we met, it was just after the Las Vegas shooting 2 LA County sheriff’s employees were among the wounded. But the officers were brave and came to the memorial despite the tragedy that befell our nation.

Posted on:

21-P by Phenomenon

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Have fun with all those pumpkins!!

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin ©2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Ernesto

Ernesto was 87 years old and was originally from Lima, Peru. Kathy, his sister was his full-time caregiver; Ernesto had Alzheimer’s, which set in when he was about 84 years old.

Ernesto came to the United States in 1954. When he resided in Peru, he worked in bank. His first job in United States, though, was peeling potatoes at the Entourage Cafe in Van Nuys , which, as Kathy explained, “is no longer there.”

After a short amount of time, Ernesto, according to Kathy, “got some schooling, and became a chemist.”

First Ernesto worked for a company named Brown and then for Sinclair. He retired from Sinclair.

Ernesto had lived in Hollywood most of his life in the United States, but for the six years prior to this interview, he had lived in Antelope Valley. His sister, however, had lived in Antelope Valley for 30 years.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin ©2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Lucille

Lucille was 93 years old and originally from Morro Bay , California, USA.

Lucille was a bookkeeper for 21 years and was self-employed. She was part of a partnership that owned restaurants and a motel. She grew up on a dairy farm, was born on a Dairy Ranch and participated in general dairy farm chores for about 45 years.

Lucille loved dairy farming because of nature and the animals involved in  farming.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin ©2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.