Portraits

Every man's work, whether it be literature, or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.
--Samuel Butler

Here it's been almost three weeks and I'm just now posting these portraits taken at Sycamore Shoals. It's nice to look back now and see the color on the trees. Megan, Anna, and Cora (and their parents!) were terrific to work with -- the girls were very patient, confident, and fun. We had a great time together.

It's always such a privilege to take portraits -- because I know how, if they're done well, they become treasured -- not just as nicely arranged pixels on paper, but as reflections of relationships captured at a distinct moment in time. I'm sorry if I sound gushy and over-sentimental, but if you've ever found yourself looking deeply into the eyes of a portrait taken of your parents or grandparents when they were children you know what I'm talking about. I think the quote above is true, it's hard to separate myself from the people and scenes I frame through the viewfinder -- I'd like to think that those who look at my photography would come away knowing something of me, even without my commentary. So I think the challenge of portrait photography is to allow the distinct personalities, the relationships and the emotions of the subjects of the portrait to shine through -- and for my 'presence' in the portrait to recede into the background.