I never forget a face.

I never forget a face.  I mean really, I don't.  I can't.  I am not sure if it's why I became a photographer but I often find myself haunted when I pass someone who I know I have seen before but can't quite place where or when it happened.  On a recent trip to California I made my whole family wait at 5:30AM in JFK for me to accost a man who I was certain I had met at a wedding a year ago.  I am regularly stopping people on the street to ask if I know them and, most often, I do, if only in passing.  So recently, when I started watching Transparent, a really beautiful show about identity (both of self and within a family), love, dysfunction, etc., I felt twitchy because the character of Ali, played by Gaby Hoffmann, seemed familiar to me.  Since my celebrity photography is limited to a few vaguely recognizable white men and Sarah Koenig, I assumed that my mind was playing tricks on me.  But then it came to me:  GABY HOFFMANN!  Of course. One day, around 15 years ago, I spent the day with her and some friends in upstate NY.  She was fretting about whether or not to continue to pursue acting.  I am so glad she did!  

And I happen to have the photo to prove it.  Voila a younger Gaby Hoffmann (on the left) circa 1999.