"If money were no object for you, and you could do anything you wanted with your life, what would you do?"
I immediately answered without hesitation and not a moments pause... "I would want to be a traveling photographer... a photojournalist."
He looked down at me, straight into my eyes with his hands around my waist and said; "Then that is what I want you to do."
These are the words I was asked one morning by this wonderful man whom I call my soul-mate. Imagine my surprise... me speechless. Me? Who always has something to say. Never have I received such a vote of confidence, such love and support to pursue my dreams.
Life hands us sweet surprises when you least expect it. Some good and then there are those that are not so good. I may be inconsistent in my thoughts on life depending on my mood on any given week. Fact is I am probably most likely cynical most of the time. But for now I find myself loving my station in life. I have been given a most sweetest gift to pursue a passion of mine of many years and this great gift means probably more than any other single object that I've ever been given. I have the love of my life to thank for this.
I am enamored by life's subtleties and wonderful moments that are often overlooked and I also feel privileged to be able to capture these rarities behind the lens of a camera. What will become of this new venture of mine? Not sure. Perhaps nothing lucrative or perhaps I land a highly esteemed career in the media and arts as a photo journalist along the lines of Diane Arbis. Hmmm. Who the hell knows. Listen all I know is I have the opportunity to tell a story; a moment in time that can be captured in a beautiful or not so beautiful but sincere and genuine photograph that perhaps and hopefully will carry on as a touching moment in history to live on forever. These are what we esteem as memories. Remember the first Apollo landing on the moon.. the day JFK was shot in Texas.. That little three year old boy saluting his father's casket in Washington; That single still shot which later became one of the most memorable and candid photographs of JFK Jr. that resonated with so many as a dream for America that never came true. These are the stories that are told behind the lens of a camera. And it is I who want to tell them.
I am loving the journey that awaits.
