Hi, hon!

I’ve actually never in my life called anyone “hon” nor pronounced Baltimore like “Bawlmer” and I’ve lived in Baltimore City almost my entire life. I didn’t even know what a Baltimore Hon was until I was much older, like in my twenties. I knew HairSpray was a Baltimore thing but I didn’t know there was an entire culture around the look until a few years ago. All I can say is that I’m glad I fell into the culture because it’s really a great one. It’s one of those unique occurrences that attribute to our city’s everlasting weirdness.

I wasn’t going to go to HonFest this year because I’ve been stressed and tired. I’ve had some personal life stuff going on that I’ll blog about at a later date. I always forget how much better shooting makes me feel, even if it’s for work. It takes a lot to get up the motivation to photograph something when money isn’t involved but I am always glad I did. It was an overcast, rainy day but the colors were still vibrant.

What’s a Hon?

According to the official website, “Hon” the Bawlmer term of endearment short for “Honey”, embodies the warmth and affection bestowed upon our neighbors and visitors alike by the historic working women of Baltimore. HONfest is an annual celebration in honor of these women.

Their hair is tall, their outfits are gaudy, and their accents are thick. If you’re a Hon you’re not shy and you’re definitely not one to be reckoned with.

I wasn’t going to blog this particular event because I felt like I did not have a cohesive visual story but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to share these beautiful faces. Thank you to every Hon who posed for my photos.