During family shoots, the best bits always came in an unthinking way. He never could have planned for them. A space opened, like a piece of a puzzle and he accepted his role, filling the shape presented. He became part of the whole, completing the scene and somehow integral to the story.
What’s happening here was no longer the question.
We happened here was the lived response.
Nerves are commonplace when it comes to getting your photo taken. If I'm being honest, I have them on my side of the camera as well. I want to deliver. It matters to me that you're happy.
I've been told I put people at ease. I approach every shoot without a plan (unless there's a specific request from you). I look. I listen. We spend time together that doesn't feel forced. That opens a window into your world just enough for me to see it and feel it. Together, we explore.
What it looked like and what it felt like were different for everyone. So many people were trying to hold it all together. So he channeled a wavelength to bridge the gap. He did what he could, where he could, however he could, whenever he could…realizing that while it was never enough and could possibly fry his own circuitry, it was what he was wired to do.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving he took her back to Boston. Every now and again, he’d steal a glance of her sleeping peacefully alongside. They arrived just before noon, unpacked her things, then went for pho and mango smoothies and he said ‘This might be our thing’ and she smiled and he smiled. When he dropped her off it was raining, so their tears blended in. They hugged as cars whooshed by. ‘See you in a couple of weeks’ he said. ‘See you in a couple of weeks’ she echoed. They hugged again, then she walked inside and he drove back to Baltimore.
