Picture of the Week #270 "Hand Jive" Paris, France 2013 Signed & Stamped

Visiting a new friend in Paris I happened to see this exhibit showing in an adjacent gallery window. I grabbed my trusty point & shoot Power shot and grabbed the image. When I went to print it out all I had to Photoshop out was my reflection. If you look real close you might detect my chinos, but other than that I found it an interesting visual and NO I did not put those hands in the flower pots. Nor do I know what the hand gestures mean. And I wondered why in 6 pots there was a right hand but only one with a watch on on the left hand in the 7th pot.

Picture of the Week #269 "Love On His Hand" New York 1972 Signed & Stamped

Look closely at his hand and see the word "LOVE" tatooed across four fingers. If I was a homeless alcoholic living in a doorway the last thing I would have written on my fingers would be "LOVE". This image is from a series that I did when I was producing & directing Music Videos. This was for the rock group Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show and their song was called "Carry Me". Only I wasn't sure how to portray alcoholism in a video. So I went down to the Bowery where most homeless were in those days. I hid a camera in my coat and began to surreptitiously take pictures. I was caught and asked for 25 cents. I gladly gave it. By the end of the day I had spent $30 but got one of the most powerful series of pictures ever. Thirty years later an editor at Vanity Fair who saw these in an exhibit stated: "Stephen Verona's work recalls the greatness of Steichen & Weegee with all of the passion of Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans. A Must see!" I dropped everything after that review and have focused primarily on my photography.

Picture of the Week #268 "Perfect Balance in Moscow" Moscow, Russia 1988 Signed & Stamped

When I was invited to the first Soviet / American Film Exchange, a group of us including Richard Gere  went to the famed Moscow Circus. As you can see we had pretty good seats and I was able to take my pictures documenting the fun evening. And there were NO animals injured and we all had a very good time including a couple of smiling Lions. I love the two hands on the bottom left of the picture that are saying "Don't worry I'll catch you."

Picture of the Week #267 "Masai Momma" Masai Mara, Kenya 1997 Signed & Stamped

On our honeymoon safari in Kenya I had the opportunity to visit a Masai village. This woman was one of many that were gracious enough to pose for me. Well, anyone who has been on safari knows that you have to pay them a little something. I am usually more generous than others because I hope to make a profit off of selling my images. So, it's just sharing the wealth so to speak. And yes, I did manipulate the background and the gradation filter.