Other World They are so rare. So strange. We know so little about them.

The faces, the faces. They have a dangerous quality, as if attached to a pagan soul, a sprite who can talk to trees, and the trees talk back.

The redhead's skin is beyond milky pale. It is so translucent you can often see blue veins. Freckles are a constant, from a smattering across a pert nose to a full-body speckle made up of reds and brown. Comforting mothers call them "angel kisses." Even with high-SPF sunblock, tanning is an issue.

The eyes are often a smoky brown. Or the color of the ocean, from slate to marble, depending on the light and mood. The blue-eyed white-skinned redheads are like walking flags. The green-eyed redheads shake you to your soul; you are helpless in their grip.

No wonder they have so often been seen as gods or demons. Or aliens, mutants, wizards or threats.

Redheads are definitely genetic outliers. Less than 1 percent of the human race may be redheads -- at most, 2. Between 2 and 6 percent of the U.S. population is redheaded, depending on the estimate and definitions. They are scarcer than lefthanders or gays, almost as scarce a13s Episcopalians.

Historically, this dearth has made them The Other -- feared or revered.

- Joel Garreau, Red Alert!, The Washington Post

 

I have red hair, as does most of my family

and it has played an extraordinary role in shaping the person I am. 
I photograph redheads of all ages and shades, 
who are friends and strangers, alone and in families;
joining us together in a shared legacy.