The seedy "Santa Claus at lunch, New York City" -- staring back from the other side of an emptied soup bowl and coffee cup, his white beard pulled down past his chin, one hand nested around the bell he rings streetside, the other absently holding a haze-generating cigarette -- will give you something to think about, whatever your opinion of the current state of the Christmas season.

"Pro-Vietnam War Parade, New York City, 1968" is one of 30 images by noted photographer Mary Ellen Mark at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild.

That's the effect generated by all of the photographs by internationally acclaimed photographer Mary Ellen Mark in a solo exhibition at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, North Side.

The show comprises more than 30 documentary-style images taken throughout the United States between 1963 and 1999 that appear in "Mary Ellen Mark: American Odyssey," one of 15 books published of her work. Her career has included assignments for such publications as Life, Rolling Stone and The New Yorker.

Mark's photographs so intensely capture the mood of place rendered that you feel that if you move close enough and linger, the image will pour out of the frame and fill the space around you, making you a part of its story. As they are -- suspended and silent -- the photographs say plenty, but the viewer has to fill in the gaps.

One absently asks, while examining a group of men hoisting a tall cross in the evening field of "KKK rally, Polaski, Tennessee," of 1994, "don't they realize that's not done anymore?" Or wonders at the circumstance -- just posing for the camera? -- of "Husband and wife, Harlan, Kentucky," of 1971, wherein she stands next to a tree that he crouches on a thick branch of, his casually held handgun pointed towards her head.

Often the eyes speak, such as those of dirty-faced little "Christopher with his kitten, Sandgap, Kentucky," whose big round eyes seem too knowing for his years, or the chilling side-cast glance of the pennant-holding young boy of "Pro-Vietnam War Parade, New York City," from 1968.

In "Central Park, New York City," an ebullient child drops over a stone wall, her Sunday dress and coat soaring outward, as her friends watch. Dancers, young lovers, beauty contest participants, carry on fairly matter-of-factly.

But in toto this isn't a cheery group.

Mark's ability to cut through generic expectations gives her seemingly objective recording an edge of commentary. The "Baby beauty pageant winner, California," for example, is not so much cute as piteous, an unwitting pawn in an event of dubious merit.

Still, as she delivers her subjects for scrutiny, Mark, through her presentation and catholic scope, also implies that they deserve the viewer's respect and consideration.

Simultaneously, Manchester is showing 20 black-and-white photographs, also stylistically documentary, from Norma I. Quintana's "Circus" series. A basically self-taught photographer with a social science background, Quintana has studied with several notable photographers, including Mark.

Her attendance at a show by the traveling one-ring Circus Chimera, a multi-national troupe that performs in the United States, inspired the series. Going on the road with them in the summers gave her access to a behind-the-scenes world most viewers aren't privy to, and the trust she built with troupe members is evident in the intimate quality of the images.

Big Top frivolity is absent. We see performers off stage, living as regular a life as the demands of their profession allow.

A clown shows a somber side. A spangled woman sports hair rollers. Strong, heavily calloused "Flyer's Hands" attest to the circus' physical demands.

Most intriguing are the children, who generally stay with the circus community when grown and begin learning their trades early.

A "Tiny Contortionist" is held above her father's head by his extended hand, her little bottom and shoulders sinking over its opposite sides, her small arms and legs awry. But her upside-down face is relaxed. It's evident that, while disquieting for the average viewer, this is a daily affair that she's comfortable with.

In "Popeye," a boy of about 9 squints and contorts the jaw that holds a jutting pipe, emulating the cartoon character. His T-shirt reads "Grandma and Grandpa went to Dodge City, Kansas, and got me this shirt 'cause they [heart] me."

One telling image, "Crawling Aerialist," is of a toddler crawling across the ring of an empty tent while a woman -- her mother? -- sits casually cross-legged ... on a trapeze bar several feet above.

Photography is gaining wide popularity as an exhibited medium, and the Guild, with its long-term emphasis on photography and ceramics, is a good venue at which to view work of consistently high quality.

The exhibitions continue through Jan. 8 at 1815 Metropolitan St., North Side. Admission is free. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and until 9 p.m. Tuesdays. The building will be closed Dec. 24 through Jan. 2. For information, call 412-322-1773 or visit www.manchesterguild.org.