Recently staff rusticator Jed Kirschbaum photographed Malcolm Spaulding, a 61-year-old man who has been repairing shoes in Baltimore for decades. The old shop, on West Fayette, is smeared with the shoe polish, its smell combining with that of the leather as memories lace the crevices. Cobblers are not in much demand in the modern age, yet this store hangs on.

My favorite image is a detail Jed made of Malcolm gripping a boot so applied glue can set. Detail photographs, which capture moments that the visually challenged either do not realize exist or fail to notice. They can add life to a series of photographs, serve as a visual segue and contribute a great amount of information without being overly obvious.

The fingers are in control, hands of confidence gripping the black leather, and look as worn and aged as the wood upon which he works. The grip is gentle, a metaphor for the lost time when everyday life often brought people into contact with tradespeople as they went about living lives that involved interaction, a stark contrast to the here-and-now cyberglow of isolation and demands for instant gratification.