C.J. Pressma 1975

This black and white photograph of C.J. Pressma was taken by Mike Mandel sometime in the last century. I imagine Mandel, with his camera, looking at Pressma. It's almost like a painting. The way the light falls on his face, highlighting his eyes and mustache, it reminds me of a Rembrandt portrait. But then, the baseball bat, the cap, the stance – it's also a sports card. He is ready to hit that ball out of the park. I wonder what Mandel was thinking when he took this photo? Was he interested in the tension between the heroic pose and the everyday reality of the person? Or was he just trying to capture a moment in time, a portrait of a man and his love for baseball? Whatever the intention, this photo speaks to me because it reminds me that art can be found in the most unexpected places.