My Buddha

In the Fall of 2014 I took the first of a series of photos that I intended to be a personal portrait of State Street and the Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin. That initial photograph was of George Grover. I took the shot surreptitiously with a long lens because, quite frankly, I was afraid to get too close to "the homeless." Over the course of the next four years and 35,000 exposures, my apprehension turned to affection for many of the unhoused and marginalized individuals who spend so much of their time on the street. George and I bonded over our mutual love of art and conversation about the important things in life. I never knew him to complain or express regrets about anything. He may have been as close as I will come to knowing a truly enlightened individual.