It was the first or second time that he had climbed the scaffolding which had been set up outside the building by Mexican artists Adriana Gallego and Claudio Dicochea. His object was to shoot close-ups of the pair at work creating a giant mural across the Francis Building's south wall, which would represent Half Moon Bay's history and people and become a town treasure.
The sun was getting low in the sky as the two artists dabbed away at their work, and Kirchner realized he wasn't in a good position to shoot a picture. But Gallego offered to interrupt what she was doing to switch positions with him and work on another area of the mural.
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"I didn't want to interrupt what she was doing, but she looked at it as a joint project," he said.
More such moments awaited Kirchner over several weeks from the end of June through the end of August, as he recorded the creation of the two-story-tall mural. By the end of the project, he had a chronicle of its creation and shared a bond with the two painters, had found himself actually pictured in the mural, and had plenty of material for an exhibit that is currently on display at M. Coffee just down the street.
The display, which will run at least through mid-January, is made up of an assortment of large color studies, matted in white, of the artists absorbed in their work, of details of the results, and of a landmark taking shape.
An artist's reception will be held for Kirchner from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2, at M. Coffee, at 522 Main St. in Half Moon Bay.
For Kirchner, both photos and mural are colorful testimonials to a friendship - and of continued personal triumph over adversity.
A Half Moon Bay resident, Kirchner had been working as an engineer for Sun Microsystems when a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis obliged him to make a change to a slower lifestyle. A longtime photography buff, he found himself taking his camera when he visited the local coffeehouse and, with permission, taking photos of the interesting faces that he saw there. The result was his first photographic exhibit, held at M. Coffee in March.
Since that time, Kirchner has build a new life, appearing at a wide range of Coastside events and documenting unfolding local history with his camera.
"I'm learning about myself," he said. "People look at the pictures and they seem to respond to them. I discovered I enjoy taking pictures of people I enjoy, feel a kinship with. That's one of the things that came through (here)."
When Gallego and Dicochea set up the scaffolding and prepared to go to work, Kirchner and his wife, Jacque, were walking by and saw the preparations. When Kirchner asked the two painters if he could photograph them, they enthusiastically agreed.
They formed an informal partnership, with Kirchner perching on the scaffolding photographing the two at work, carefully staying out of their way. "I didn't want to bother them because I thought of them as artists," he said.
In time, a bond developed, as coastal history took colorful shape in the mural, which included old Half Moon Bay buildings, the Ocean Shore Railroad, local events like the Holy Ghost Festival and a cross-section of townspeople.
"As the work went on, we became friends," Kirchner said.
And he himself became a part of that unfolding history, in what he calls the "highlight" of the whole process, for him. He was up on the second level of the scaffolding with Gallego and Dicochea, and they laughingly told him he was part of the mural. He laughed back - and they told him to look closer.
"(Gallego said,) 'No, right there!'" Kirchner said, and when he looked, she was pointing to a little representation of himself, getting on a train. "I felt incredibly honored and humble. Like it was one of the biggest honors I'd ever had."
He picked the photos for the current M. Coffee exhibit with those feelings in mind.
"What I realized was that the images have something special, because of the way I feel about the subject," he explained. "I really like Adriana and Claudio. Watching them work, I was amazed. I was able to keep perspective on the entire project.
"I like being part of a work in progress."
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