Elaine impersonating Tony, on the morning of her heart attack by Summer '07 contender CoCo Walters.

When I asked my roommate what this photograph reminded her of, she immediately said, "Florida", and I agreed because that shirt is so Miami. Then she added, "Oh yeah, and Christmas." And, I thought she was referring to the obvious red-green color combination, but then she added, "Because of, like, the polar bears and stuff." Huh. First of all, since when do polar bears have anything to do with Christmas? And secondly, I'm pretty sure those are just plain, old teddy bears and that the toy manufacturers did not intend to adhere to the specific breed of polar teddy bears. But, understandably, my roommate is from Colombia. (They don't have polar bears there.)

Trying to think of what this photo reminds me of, I came up with a few things. First of all, it reminds of those crazy distant relatives that we all have, who never had kids, so they dress up the stuffed animals they bought to keep around the house for when their nephews or second cousins eventually visit. Secondly, it reminds me of the kind of characters Diane Arbus photographed, kooky Coney Island-types. I also see this warped parallel thing happening with this Eggleston photo of the older woman on a couch.

Aside from its colors and all-around wackiness, the photo's title, "Elaine impersonating Tony, on the morning of her heart attack", was what really sparked my interest. So, I turned to contender CoCo Walters' website to find out more. There, I clicked on "Seeing Red", which is the series featuring Elaine, whom the photographer met by chance at Michael's Arts and Crafts. In her statement, Walters acknowledges her initial curiosity for this weird woman and her even weirder house--the same curiosity that initially piqued my interest in the story. However, Walters' statement beautifully analyzes how this striking persona developed out of a complicated life. I don't want to give it all away, since you should read the statement yourselves on Walters' site, but I personally like the part where on the morning of her heart attack, Elaine's husband said to her, "I'm not calling the ambulance. That costs money. You do it."

Reading about the contender, herself, was just as interesting as reading about Elaine.

I grew up in Northern Virginia and therefore, much to my chagrin, I do not have a slow, slurring southern accent reserved for those residing further south. Mostly I went to work with my dad, which began my love for the smell of sawdust, played pilgrims with my sister, and squirted water guns at passing cars while the baby-sitter was inside. I've probably taken the worst pictures of my life in Stafford, Virginia; maybe someday I'll change that.

So, how did this big personality get her start in photography?

I got started in photography when I applied to the Yearbook staff in 10th grade with pictures I had taken the day before and that I had stolen from my sister's scrapbook. They loved it.

Saucy.

Walters cites Mitch Epstein's Family Business as one of her earliest inspirations. She understood "Family Business" to be a real personal project and goes on to explain how this affected her work:

As a student majoring in Photojournalism I never really felt like I had the chance to do a personal project, one that was solely about me and it's something I've always felt like I was missing. But I've figured out that no matter who or what I'm photographing, somehow it shows me more about myself than I ever expected.

So, what else is there to say about CoCo Walters? Well, there's her awesome flickr site and I think her quirky list of inspirations should sum it all up. Walters cites Ebola Virus, once again Mitch Epstein, boring pictures, bored people, and "staying as un-bored as possible" as her all-time obsessions.

So many people are entering the Hey, Hot Shot! competition! YAY! You should enter, too!