From the Waist Down      

Let me start by saying, I am definitely not a foot person.  Evolution had to skimp somewhere when it came to function vs fashion, and human feet landed squarely in the function category from what I see.

This doesn’t mean that feet — and the limbs that propel them — are without photographic interest.  This mini-gallery consists of 12 images “from the waist down” in various ways.  Several of these are photos of other people’s art, which I usually eschew unless I feel that my framing adds something.  Full credit to the artists who sculpted those feet and limbs and — while we’re at it — credit also to the humans who grew the flesh-and-blood feet and limbs in the other images.  Further details below.

• New York Gritty — New York City (2004, film).  A ground-level view of a display ad outside a department store.

• Running in Place — Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA (2013).  Alternate title: Frozen in Time.  I’d like to think this person had been chasing a butterfly but she/he more likely got trapped in a prehistoric mudslide.

• Jesus Toes — St. Stanislaus Church, Cleveland, OH (2004, film).  The toes of this painted figure may be those of Jesus himself, but my memory of the shot is faulty — this might have been an image of a minor altar-side figure.  On the other hand, what if these really are Jesus’s toes!

• Foot by Louis-Phillipe Hébert — Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada (2013).  A micro-detail from one of the two figures at the base of the monument of Alexander MacKenzie, Prime Minister of Canada 1873-1878.  Just the way the foot is tucked behind the knee…

• Feet by Auguste Rodin — Musee Rodin, Paris, France (2014).  This is a detail from one version of The Kiss (there were several, of different scales and materials).  The rugged appearance of the lovers’ feet is in sharp contrast to the highly-polished features one is accustomed to seeing in Rodin’s work, which suggests this may be an early study.

• A Small Step for Man — Ottawa, Canada (2013).  The legs and shadow of my photo-friend Kevin, who I’ve not been in touch with since this photo was taken.  (Hope you’re doing well, Kevin.)

• Strawberry Shoes — Richmond, VA (2022).  Shoes with multi-color lights would have been science-fiction stuff when I was a kid, almost right up there with X-Ray Specs.

• Waiting to Cross — New York City (2004, film).  A moment in shoe-elevation history, and when just about everything about New York City fascinated me.

• 50 Shades of Grime — New York City (2004, film).  Lots of stuff to see in New York City when you look down.

• Red Handbag — New York City (2002, film).  There must have been something heavy in that handbag that needed two people to carry it.

• Walk This Way — Ottawa, Canada (2013).  Composed with the cooperation of my co-conspirator, Gunn Berit Vuttudal of Norway.

• Cloggers — Mocksville, NC (2006).  Performers at the Daniel Boone Family Festival.