Gunther Toody's

I went to Gunther Toody's yesterday to converge with a college friend for a good old fashion mediocre old fashion diner breakfast. I ate what felt like enough greasy food to fuel a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. Although early in the morning for a night owl like I, and just the beginning of what turned out to be a marathon of a day, it was a joy to sit and eat with my guy from school, his pops and his friend from home. The waitresses at Gunther Toody's have an enormous amount of flair, both as a trait of their personalities and as a component of their uniforms. I hung out for a bit and photographed afterward, but never felt overly welcome. I can understand this, considering most of these waitresses most likely don't identify on a personal level too closely with their Gunther Toody's flair pins and tacky outfits. But, I think, that is what makes the staff there an interesting subject to photograph in the first place, not to mention the brilliant lighting and colors that Gunther's has to offer.
NPPA has published their Best of Photojournalism. In my opinion, Mary Calvert absolutely stole the show. She's good. Although, considering her portfolio really pushed the envolope in some ways, I don't think that the "at-least-one-image-with-subject-reflecting-back-in-the-mirror photo-essay quota" should've applied to her. Seriously, there must be other ways of demonstrating your access to a subject and your appreciation of eye-candy, without falling victim to that cliché (again and again).