Hayley (#925) 08-10-15

At noon on a Sunday, I parked in a high rise garage, crossed the street and headed to Giuseppe's Ristorante. I had photographed Giuseppe a few years ago. https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobdeinphoto/8083805112/in/album-72157627425474507/

Alas, it was closed for lunch on Sundays. Drat! So I headed back toward the garage and passed “Old School Bar and Grill, a Music Joint.” It looked a little rough, but how rough could a place be at noon on a Sunday? So I went in to the dark, noisy establishment and had a decent taco salad. More importantly, I met Hayley.

She was my waitress, and as soon as I saw her I mentally kicked myself in the rear end for not carrying the camera. But it was in the trunk of the car, 90 seconds away. When I finished and Hayley asked if there were anything else I wanted, I said “Yes”, and explained how I wanted to meet her and make a portrait. I showed her my photostream on the phone and she was quite impressed with the lighting. A mature observation. So I settled up, got the camera, and was back for action. The open doorway into Old School was a good spot.

Hayley was born in Virginia and came to Sarasota at age 11. She went to Bradenton Prep, a now defunct high school. The job at Old School has good hours for Hayley, but this is not a career. She works nights during the week so that she can be home during the day while her husband works. They share duties taking care of their 'very active' 16 month old son. On weekends, the boys have 'guy time' while she works during the day. Hayley plans to be a stay-at-home mom when their second is born (no, she's not pregnant yet).

Thank you, Hayley, for allowing me to photograph you for my ongoing portrait project.

Bob