Because sometimes the current one sucks
Watch This First
I was admittedly seething with anger as I drove home after this photoshoot. We were working in an area I’ve shot at dozens of times over the past 15 years without incident. The only problems we’ve ever encountered were mud and high water. But this time, a woman jogging nearby saw our model and assumed she was underage and possibly there against her will. So, she called the police. The police proceeded to claim that we were on private property (we weren’t) and double-check that the model was of legal age (she’s 21 if you’re wondering and I have the requisite proof of age).
Once I calmed down a bit, I had to consider that what happened was a direct result of a reality with which I’m not directly involved. In the runner’s reality, the age gap between myself and the model was suspicious. In the runner’s reality, the model couldn’t be more than 12-14 years old. In the runner’s reality, the model had to be in danger. Therefore, in the runner’s reality, it was her responsibility to call the police.
Our realities are not shared. In my reality, I was shooting with a friend, someone I’ve shot before, someone who was excited about what we were doing. In my reality, the age gap was never an issue because there was no intention other than getting the best photos we possibly could. In my reality, we were having fun. In my reality, we both spoke to the runner as she passed, a greeting that was friendly and not the least bit aggressive or creepy.
So, as I struggled with how to capture all the emotions I still feel in looking at these pictures, the idea of creating a separate reality, a reality void of any ill intent on anyone’s part, a reality of music and love and peace, seemed appropriate. The result is a unique set of images that are unlike any I’ve shot in that location.
I do lament the loss of shooting there again. Given that we were watched all the way back to our vehicles until we both left, I’m not inclined to ever return to that area for any reason. While the area is one of the most beautiful in town, I don’t need the potential harassment. This is the last set of images I’ll shoot along the White River.
And so we move on to a new reality, one created by new experiences and understanding. Whether it is better than the old reality remains to be seen.
Enjoy the photos.
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What Is Beauty
There Is More Than What The Eye Beholds
The old adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder is, to put it nicely, nonsense. First, some people wouldn’t recognize beauty if it came up and slapped them hard in the face, and most of those people deserve just such a slap. Second, beauty is not static. How it appears to us one time may not be the same as the next. I chose a fast-paced video this week because I want to emphasize just how quickly beauty moves through our lives. One moment it is there, the next it is gone.
Perhaps most important, though, is that beauty cannot be defined because it is never, ever, limited to a constant state. The natural ebb and flow of beauty mean that we can never nail down what it is or isn’t. Not only can we not trust our eyes, but we also can’t trust our emotions, our instincts, or our experiences. What we may see as beauty now may prove to be something quite different to our grandchildren. Likewise, what we find distasteful may, but future standards, be astonishing and lovely.
Ray Stevens once sang a song that was the heart of inclusivity. “Everything is beautiful, in its own way,” he sang in 1970. The song was inspiring and it made Ray Stevens a very popular and a financially prosperous individual. Ray’s right-leaning political views of the past few years have caused him to seem not-so-beautiful to a lot of people, though. Did he change, or did our view of what’s beautiful?
When I come across people I knew growing up, a lot of them say, “Wow, you’ve changed. What would your parents say?” I assume they think my parents wouldn’t approve of some of my actions and my liberal attitudes. I know my parents, though, and whether or not they approved of what I say or what I do, they would still love me. They would still find me beautiful.
Beauty, as the video says, is form. Beauty is substance. Beauty is the essence of nature and the fragrance of love wrapped in a single soul. The young woman in these pictures is beautiful. So are you.
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