The Sweeper Print - Limited Edition of 10

The Sweeper – Explanation This image of a man sweeping the floor of a hotel in Olinda, Brazil is in the “Anonymous Portraits” Series. Olinda is a beautiful colonial city on the east coast of central Brazil. Indeed, the Portuguese explorers named it that because it is so beautiful (Oh! Linda!). I was sitting in the lobby of our hotel, waiting for my guide to come down for breakfast, and was mesmerized by this older man sweeping the floor. He was silhouetted against the bright morning light in the street. I was swept with the emotion that any work, no matter how lowly, can be dignified and even beautiful. As with all of my street photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson was a major influence. His entire career was like this, with images taken at “Le Moment Définitif” (The Definitive Moment), that precise moment that tells the story of the picture. One of the best examples of Le Moment Définitif is the American sailor kissing a nurse in New York City’s Times Square on V.J. Day, celebrating the American defeat of Japan in World War II and hence the end of the war, on August 14, 1945. It was taken by Alfred Eisenstadt, a Jewish German immigrant who was a staff photographer for Life Magazine. Life was one of the major weekly American publications with photo essays of current events and American life. Some of the greatest news photographers in the world were on its staff. I have the greatest respect for street photographers, who are at the mercy of the surroundings as well as the subjects. There is no second chance to get the perfect shot. In my image of The Sweeper, all of the visual components in the hotel’s lobby worked together to frame this humble worker in the focal point. I hope that this image will enable you to understand that beauty is everywhere, even in the most humble circumstances. You just need to look for it.