The Beloved (2008)

The Beloved
Front Royal, Virginia
February 11, 2008

For nature photographers, every so often they run across a river, forest scene or mountain that they HAVE to shoot.  They are compelled to try to replicate on film (or, these days, in pixels) the beauty that calls to them from the scene.  Photographers who, like myself, shoot people, have the same compulsion from time to time.  Our problem is that not everyone we see that we want to shoot wants to be shot!

So was the case with a co-worker of mine, A---.  From the very first day I met her, I knew I wanted to photograph her.  People sometimes confuse this to be similar to a crush, which it's not.  I grew to love A--- dearly as a person and a friend, but my sights never extended past that.  Nevertheless, there was an absolute compulsion to photograph her.

For over a year I tried to work up the courage to ask her.  Once we became closer as friends, it was a tad easier (although not much).  To my surprise, she was reluctant as she was somewhat self-conscious and didn't think she would be photogenic.  I felt it was my job to prove her wrong! 

Thankfully, she put her trust in me and agreed to a shoot.  We set up a date and time and she arrived at my house.  My landlord lived next door and I had wanted to use some of his property to shoot around.  When A--- arrived, a landscaper has also just arrived at the landlord's place.  For some reason that I'll never figure out, I told her we'd have to reschedule.  This was stupid... we could have shot in my house.  I took a severe gamble here... she was already weary of shooting and this was the perfect opportunity to get out of booking another date.

The original "Standard Pose" shot.

To her credit, we did manage to get together a second time, only two months before I left the area.  We did a number of ideas together, some of which turned out well, others not so much (as is usually the case in any shoot).  I had her take part in "The Standard Pose Project" in which models of all different sizes and types wear the same bikini top as a satire on the fashion industry (who still believes models should be the same stick-thin size).  It wasn't until after the session when I was looking at the shots, that I realized one of the Standard Pose pics was really intense.

I cropped her face from the shot and added some digital effects.  The result was amazing.  Her eyes are so incredible and emotional.  Best of all, I was able to capture her beauty exactly as I saw her every day we worked together.  That is the goal of every photographer, whether they work in portraits or landscapes -- capturing the essence of something or someone.