>
First up - henna tattoos! I try to support artistic endeavors where I can, and Baylor's Indian Subcontinent Student Association got my $12 today :) SUCH gorgeous work, such an amazing culture.
Second - Today is the first time I've written here - and this one's long. Plenty has been churning through my head: jobs, boy, photography, exploded closets needing attention, forgotten about homework assignments, photography, spring break planning, forgotten-about photo homework. I've had some time to sit and discover this afternoon after mourning my latest memory slip (which incidently is why I have time to write at this moment), regardless it was worth it.
I found Clayton Austin a photographer from San Antonio, featured on Green Wedding Shoes. His work is something we wedding-ish (newbie) photographers both young, and seasoned oldies drool over: ethereal, sweet, unique and that tells a soulful story. Clayton does one of the best jobs I've seen at writing about his work too. He just blogged about "The Goodness" (that's his word) in an engagement post that he took in San Juan Capistrano. It brought tears to my eyes, because I know what he is talking about - and being someone in his line of work, I dream about immortalizing these moments he speaks of and photographs. I've seen them all right at my own shoots - just wasn't quick enough at the shutter. One thing I'm looking forward to when I'm an oldie myself is not being so spastic to chase down my shots, but to let them happen before my eyes and calmly raise my lens. Clayton I applaud you and without further ado, here are your words which I admire so much and find boundless inspiration in !
"I remember the first time I discovered The Goodness. Of course I had known The Goodness all along. But only in the way that a child perceives words before the ability to read them. He can obviously see what is written, but the message remains a mystery. They are just jumbled symbols on a piece of paper. I was in San Juan Capistrano not so long ago photographing what was to be one of my most memorable engagement sessions. The air was salty as the waves splashed against the storm kissed rocks of the west coast. I had just set Kristina and Daniel up for a shot on the railroad tracks at the base of a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The cold November air had a bit of a bite to it. I was changing lenses when I just happen to look up and see that Daniel had wrapped is arms around his beautiful bride-to-be and pulled her closer as if to keep her warm. Then he leaned in even closer and whispered something that made her melt. She didn’t laugh. She didn’t smile. She just snuggled into his embrace and sighed. The good kind of sigh. At that very moment I oh so subtly put the camera to my eye, released the shutter, and seized a moment that few will ever get to experience in a lifetime. I don’t know what he said. Maybe it was three little words. Maybe it was much more. What was said is not important. What is important is that it was ever said at all. And that of all the photographers on this expansive , wondrous planet, the universe chose me to be there when he said it...The Goodness is many different things to many different people. To some its a Sunday afternoon with the windows rolled down and Carly Simon on the radio. To others its a tender kiss on the nape of the neck. And still to others its cuddling on the couch for a TIVO’d Grey’s Anatomy episode with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s (each of course). To me The Goodness is a subtle look. Its the laughter found in the loss of a staring contest. Its the sun flare at precisely 7:10pm when the light is golden and buttery. But at that very moment The Goodness was a whisper. A secret between a man and a woman. Becoming aware of The Goodness has made me a better person. A more profound artist. Its presence surrounds me with every couple I photograph. I am thankful not to have found it, but to have realized it was there all along."
- Clayton Austin.
{I couldn't have felt this any differently myself} 
0 comments:
Post a Comment