When I was a young photographer in the 1980s, there was a book project that every photographer had on their shelf: The Red Couch. These two photographers dragged a crappy red couch all over America and photographed people sitting on it. The couch was on a fishing boat off Gloucester, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in a butcher shop in Cleveland. It was brilliant. I thought of the red couch as I asked Miles to use our backdrop as a drop cloth as he worked on his 1989 Pontiac Firebird restoration project.
“My plan for next year is to become an apprentice at a service center while also going to NoVA for a certification in Auto Mechanics. I love to fix and drive cars, and engines purring make me happy.” Suddenly, five million Bruce Springsteen songs just popped into my head. And why this particular make and model, I asked Miles. “It was cheap and it was cool,” he replied. Well played, Miles, well played. Let’s congratulate Miles as he moves on to do what he loves. I give you Miles K.,Yorktown Class of 2020. p.s. bonus points for being a French horn and trombone player!
Location: Arlington, Virginia.