This was not the photo that I thought I was going to use for the library.  I had a different image in mind that you can see here.  The other photo is a nice photo.  I liked it enough to make it my original choice.  Then I saw the photo here and something about it grabbed me.  It’s not just that librarian Maureen Rafa is holding books, it’s that you can’t readily identify where she is.  It’s not a photo that screams ‘Riverside Library’ at you.  And, because there’s something wrong with me, I really like that.  I like that the Riverside Library is Landmark Number One in Riverside and I have, albeit inadvertently, shrouded its identity here by zooming in.  `

The glass piece in the window is a Higgins Glass piece.  It’s a permanent installation in the library.  And to say that these photos were not working before I lit it is an understatement.  One of the more intriguing parts of the Riverside Library sky deck (what I call it) is how much glass there is in it.  Not only is there the Higgins piece, but there are windows (and doors) on all sides and the cabinets along the back wall have glass doors.  In short, light was reflecting off absolutely everything.  It took quite some time for my assistant and I to position the lights to both light the subjects and hide the reflections.  I think we did a pretty good job of it too.

As a final thought, I really need to get better at titling these photos.  Some artists have great poetic titles or name their works after Renaissance era Latin terms.  I look at the photos and think, “Well, that’s Maureen Rafa in the library… so… well, let’s call it ‘Maureen Rafa in the Library’.”  C’est la vie…