Miracle on Powell Street

Right after I shot "We Are Legend", I saw this guy walking down Powell street, and I chased after him. "Excuse me", I said, "I'd love to take your portrait since you just have one of those faces..." He interrupted me and answered, "Of course I do, I'm Santa Claus!"

That took a minute to set in, since when I saw him, I thought of precisely two things:

• Santa Claus
• Dumbledore

He went on to explain that his name was John Toomey, and he had been Macy's Santa for 20 years before they gave him the boot in an (imho) pretty gross display of Corporate Dumb. He said he had a new, more lucrative gig as Santa for Lefty O'Doul's, so it had all worked out well in the end.

John was an amazing performer -- the moment the camera came out, he only got more like Santa. On cue, the wind kicked up, and he cracked a big smile as he waved.

Awesome moment, and one of my favorite portraits from last week.