This is Michael, and he is one of the radiographers at the clinical site I’ve been at for the past three weeks. He stood out to me, enough to ask my clinical instructor, and then him, to let me do a portrait of him, not just because of his stellar smile, but because of his desire to teach. On my third day at my new site, he seemed to take me under his wing, telling me after going on one portable x-ray run with him, “You come with me today.” He’s from Nigeria originally, so put a thick African accent on that as you read it.

Michael proceeded to teach me something of value after each patient we x-rayed that day. He took the time to ask me radiography registry-style questions about the x-rays we’d made of each patient before moving on to the next. It was intimidating. But, he had a way of doing it in a way that didn’t make me feel talked down to, or belittled, for not having all the right answers to his very impromptu pop quizzes. I took notes that day regarding what I learned after coming back from each portable run with him. It was clear to me that he had a wealth of knowledge to share. I later learned why: He graduated from radiography school in 2003 and immediately went to work for Atlanta Medical Center, which had its own radiography program at the time. Up until recently, AMC was one of two Level 1 trauma centers in Atlanta. So, that, a Level 1 trauma center, is all he has ever known as an X-Ray Tech for the past 20 years. Translation: He’s seen a whole lot of – unfortunate – stuff as a radiographer in that time and has earned all the knowledge he has.

So, I randomly saw him standing in the radiography control room this past Friday with that smile radiating from his face and knew I wanted to do a portrait of him. This is it. He clearly accepted my offer, and,  as a result, during those few moments I spent capturing this. Well, I forget how uncomfortable I feel as a radiographer (in training) these days versus how comfortable I feel as a photographer. He has 20+ years of experience in radiography, and it shows. I’ve got 20+ years of experience as a photographer, and that seemed to show too.

Thank you for briefly bringing me back to a profession I’ve had a hard time letting go of, Michael. And thanks for trusting me to do this portrait of you, as it feels as if it is as much a portrait of me as it is of you.

-Keith