Theo Welling: Portraits

For the past couple years, Theo Welling has had a weekly gig photographing and interviewing St. Louisans for the Riverfront Times (there's that full disclosure). Every week the paper publishes the photo, and accompanying commentary from his subjects, as "The Lede." Welling has spoken with short-order cooks, kids, acrobats, artists, yoga practitioners — pretty much anybody who is willing to share something about their life. As documents, they're interesting, but as a barometer of what St. Louis worries about, believes, celebrates and condemns, they're fascinating. Welling's best shots are familiar and startling, reminding us that for all the ways we're different, we're also recognizably the same. Theo Welling: Portraits, an exhibition of his favorite images, opens with a free public reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, November 3, at the Dark Room (3610 Grandel Square; www.thedarkroomstl.com). The show remains up through December 31.