Annette Landry, featured artist, People On Porches exhibit, Zagga Photography.

I am sure that our grandparents can remember a time, when the dog days of summer hovered over them like a thick blanket of sweltering humidity. The only relief was felt in the early mornings or in the evenings when people would search for a sweet breeze by sitting on their front porch. Families would come together and children would play. People would smoke, drink lemonade or indulge in a few spirits. Neighbors would pass each other, stopping to talk and find out the news of the neighborhood.

Front porch living fostered a sense of community that seems to be rapidly disappearing. Our society seems to be replacing the personal with the impersonal, the community store with the big chain franchise, the small church with the mega-church. The victims have been the butcher, the local grocer, the barber and the front porch. Our gatherings have been pulled into the home or to the backyard with the protection of our towering fences that hide what we don’t want everyone to see.

However, outside the sprawling suburbs, we can still find the People on Porches. Whether gathering on Guenther Street with the neighbors for a Sunday brunch or whether mourning a son’s passing by erecting a shrine for the community to see, people are willing to share their lives, our good times as well as our pain with the transparency that exists when we spend our time in community by simply sitting on the porch.

This project reflects my hearts desire that we as a society would take the time to know one another, share our lives and put down our fears and claim what our current modern advancements cannot give; an ability relate to one another by sharing our experiences, our space, our soil and our air, living accountable to each other knowing that the demise of one, is the demise of all.

Gil Lopez, featured artist, Pride & Joy exhibit, Zagga Photography.

As long as I can remember I loved cars. As early as middle school I was already helping my uncle at his body shop (even if it was just cleaning up). By high school I was helping with sanding and light body-work. I remember watching as he restored old cars, classic cars and cars that seemed to have no value other than to the owner. Whatever it was I just loved the look of the cars. I never learned much about them other than the fact that they were absolutely beautiful to look at. I decided to begin a project to find out what it was about these vehicles that made their owners pour so much of their heart and soul into them. From the car club fanatic to the private collector everyone has a story. This project has been in the works for a while now and I foresee one more year before it is complete.

People On Porches images by Annette Landry.

Images by Gil Lopez and Annette Landry at Zagga Photography.

Pride & Joy images by Gil Lopez.

Image by Annette Landry.

Image by Gil Lopez.

Posse Photographicus… Gil Lopez, Annette Landry, Ramin Samandari, and Deborah Keller-Rihn.