Faces of Culpeper .... more by Rich Crowley

I think I was spoiled in my first attempt to photograph the faces of Culpeper. It seems like everyone was willing to have his/her picture taken. This time I ran into some serious rejection. I think part of the problem is that I was trying to shoot some stalwart citizens who are over 45 years old. As soon as I used the word "blog" it was all over. Have you ever tried to explain what a "blog" is? It's about as difficult as describing the taste of salt. One guy's eyes glazed over(all but one of the rejectors were men). Another man requested that I provide something close to a national security clearance before I could take pictures of his balloons....geez! I just went over to the Dollar Store. It is not out of the question that a third was contemplating going for his gun. It's just a blog for crying out loud! If anyone has a tidy definition....please let me know.

The other thing I learned is that it does not matter what the weather is or what else is going on in Culpeper, there are always men out there doing things or just hanging out. The parking lot of Lowes is a treasure trove of men. Twenty degrees below....no problem, men are still coming and going and hanging out. Gale force winds with heavy rain.....the male traffic at Lowes actually picks up. Men are everywhere you look and let's not get into who is outside the ABC store!! But women? I caught a glimpse of one or two through car windows and that was about it. I asked my wife where the women could possibly be. She gave me the most obvious answer of all and that was that they were shopping. So I went inside to look for the women's faces of Culpeper. Next week I am hitting the popular shops downtown. Whoopee!

On a serious note there is almost an endless number of older men here whose faces show the wear of hard lives. I am sure that it is a combination of working outdoors, experiencing a tough life plus some self inflicted behaviors that can wear out a face. Without any problem I could find twenty of them for the next blog. They make interesting pictures, but are only one part of an interesting group of people.

Til next time!
Mr. Peterson and his store, Peterson Jewelry are fixtures in Culpeper.

You can find Lisa running the Tropical Smoothy Cafe.

These three friends all grew up in Culpeper together. I asked them how they felt about all of the people who have moved in recently. They said they preferred the way it was before, but if you look at these faces, I am pretty sure they made an exception for me.

Billie was at Lowes. While I was taking his picture the women clerks gathered around him and made a fuss like he was a rock star.

This couple was outside of IHop.

How could I not shoot this guy who was making customers and coworkers laugh?

You never know who you are going to run into in the parking lot of Safeway in Culpeper...the Statue of Liberty! Imagine!





These guys were fun .... all stylish and posturing tough. When I asked to take their picture they got the guy on the left out of the backseat of their car. He was babysitting his little baby and had made the others get out of the car to smoke.

A new friend at the photoshop/lab/studio/store.

This guy was cool .... really!









This lovely young lady will get you balloons

at the Dollar Store.

A pretty face at Martin's Grocery Store.   Her name is Molly.