Stretch of the imagination

Today was the first day for me to work in a photo studio. Until now, I had spent most of my focus on finding treasures in things that happened organically like a live music performance, dance recital, or sporting event. There is something exciting about seeing what moments I can freeze and highlight from the millions that happen in a flash of an instant. It is a metaphor for my life really. Rather than living by some grand, predetermined plan, I have been trying to make sense of the endless series of moments. I give meaning to each of them so they can form the foundation of order. After a while, beautiful snapshots emerge, memories of happy times in a lover’s embrace, sitting along the Seine with wine and newly found friends, a rainy night under a tree in Yoyogi park, the cheers of the crowd when the show is over and we have done a great job. Each is a single moment in a collection of moments that have made up my life. Despite the joy I have gotten from that, I wanted to focus on a fixed point in the calm, well lit environment of a studio. My friend was kind enough to arrange the use of theirs. I also wanted to use it as an opportunity to pay back the kindness I had received. At the end of last year, I broke my precious camera. With the help of kind friends and strangers, I was able to raise money through crowd funding to purchase another one. Today was my chance to pay back my debt to the universe by paying it forward in portraits.

The woman in the photo is Diana. She was there today to chat and have her picture taken. We all had a great time.