by Daniel Brodell-Lake

Created on: July 18, 2008

The Portrait:
He sat down across from her and placed the camera case on the table. He was a young and idealistic photographer. She was a young and idealistic student. They had both already found, experienced and lost love. A gentle light shone through the skylight and graced their skin, the table, and the closed case. Water? Pillow? A snack? Would you prefer to be in the living room? No-no-no, "Everything is good, thank you," he thought to himself and expressed with his face. A three second comfortable silence was shared- after which the young lady gently closed her eyes and the young man took the camera from the case and placed it on the table. The lens cap was still on. The young man noticed the ISO to be 400- Fuji color- great greens on glossy paper, while the young lady shifted her position.

"What makes you happy?" The young man asked the young lady. The shadow of the leaves rustling in the wind played on the room and a soft breeze came through the screen door. The young lady was thinking- then she smiled and said:
"Family." A one-word answer. She took a deep breath. She sat taller and her face brightened. "My family makes me happy." The young man acknowledged her answer- but did not speak- so as not to interrupt. "Caring for my family. Being with my family. Knowing that they are well fed and safe." While she spoke, the young man took off the lens cap- turned on the camera- adjusted the f-stop and shutter speed (6.7, 250) so as to be balanced- and leaned back in his chair with his camera in front of his face. When the young lady finished speaking- she looked satisfied and exhaled slowly as she straightened her back and took on a countenance of pure happiness- the young man snapped the first photo just at this instant. Emotion captured on emulsion. They shared another comfortable silence.
"What makes you sad?" The young man asked the young lady with an honest face- not knowing if he could answer the question himself. She thought for a moment, then answered:
"Loss." Another one word answer. Again, the young man acknowledged her response but did not speak. He waited for an explanation- it did not come in words. The young lady's shoulders drooped. She looked down and her hair covered the sides of her face. The young man changed the shutter speed to 350 with the twist of a dial because the light had shifted. The young lady looked up slowly after a moment. Her eyes were watery- but there were no tears. Her nose was red. Her eyebrows were raised in the middle-

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>