I've lived in Fairfield, Iowa in the midwestern United States for over 20 years. Like many people here I came from far away (England in my case) to be part of a lifestyle community here that practices meditation and natural life styles. My project is to capture the life around the down town hub of the iconic Cafe Paradiso. It's famous for locals hanging out and contemplating spiritual philosophies, conspiracies and much more. Famous people like Oprah and David Lynch have all gotten coffee here.

I spent about an hour sitting with this group and I told them I'd be taken some photos. There was intense story telling going on amongst the group, not superficial gossip or politics but deep stories about their childhoods.  This is one of about 6 frames I captured. It was actually the first frame, I liked how the three are all smiling and laughing in reaction to the story being told. 

 

I haven't completed the project yet. I'll spend an hour early in the morning when the cafe opens and an hour in the evening and post another photo.

 

Thanks for the course, great insights and inspiration.