MORNING RITUAL: Evelyn Green, then 87, shapes silver strands into a hairstyle as she prepares for her day. For family members who have witnessed the ritual for years, the mundane is sublime. (c.1996)

BACKGROUND
If photography is writing with light,
all images should be poetry.

Karen L. Shaw has worked as a writer with The Associated Press in Philadelphia and Miami, and recently completed a term as the news organization's correspondent in Tampa. She received her bachelor's degree in Economics and Africana Studies from Cornell University and her master of journalism from Temple University. Her poetry has appeared in literary magazines in New York city and Texas. She began shooting in Philadelphia and has worked on projects in Kenya, East Africa.