The Occupy Portraits: A Photo Essay

olympia, washington 17-19 January 2012 I arrived on the train from Portland just after nightfall. A good meal with dear friends and sleep in a warm bed - I awakened to the pristine white snow that had steadily fallen while I’d slept so soundly that I missed the actual storm. A landscape transformed through the course of one night. In anticipation of the worst storm in fifty years, word was sent out through the finely organized network of Occupy Olympia that I’d be creating portraits all day at “Tradi- tions” - a restaurant/import shop across the street from the recently closed and fenced Heri- tage Park where the successful town of tents had been. Sarah, an activist, expertly navigated the snow drifts in her four wheel jeep to the homes of a few Occupy folks stranded by the storm so that I could make their portraits, and then to the shop for the steady stream of loyal activists determined not to be deterred by the weather - always ready to be of service to this movement. Dedication I’ve witnessed in city after city.