Christmas Eve
Knoxville, Tennessee
29x37 C-print
2005

Like most photographer's families, mine is accustomed to being photographed endlessly. However, I believe this photograph was a personal best of obnoxious photographic intrusion. My version of "getting into the holiday spirit" was to plop an enormous tripod and bellows camera down in the middle of the action in the living room and then warn everyone to be careful and not bump into it. To their enormous credit, they tried to take my request seriously. Of course the tripod got bumped, and this impressionistic version of Christmas tree and coffee table is the result. I've experimented with printing it warm-toned and cool-toned, but one seemed too melancholy and nostalgic and the other too bright and cheery. Then I printed it somewhere in the middle, which I think is how most of us experience the holidays.