La Belle Dame

Our hearts are drunk with a beauty our eyes could never see.

- George W. Russel

Last weekend, I did a photoshoot for Ann, my sister and best friend.  She needed photos for an online dating profile.  She has lots of photos that show her great personality, but few that show how cute she really is.  So, at the golden hour of the evening, we drove to Wegerzyn Gardens and had some fun.

Ann is one of the most beautiful people that I have ever met, especially on the inside.  She is a treasure trove of generosity and good character.
She is also one of the most humble people I know, especially physically.
She is not one of those people who knows what makes them look good in a photo, and then does it.  She has a voluptuous body, but never acts sexy. Instead she laughs, all the time.  When I raise my camera, she tends to either act silly, or closes up like a flower at dusk, or a dropped book.

Photographing her has been a journey of discovery.  At first, I tried to get her picture when she wasn't paying attention to me.   However, that was virtually impossible, as she reacts well when looking at me, but not when my face is hidden by a large camera.  We tried going on a photo journey. I had her walk through fields of gently flowing wildflowers. I thought the wildflowers would reflect her natural beauty and quirky delight.  Somehow it was completely wrong. Ann is not the type of girl to meander through wildflowers. Wildflowers are for girls who want to look sylph-like and romantic.  Ann's too busy staring at strange bugs, and making interesting comments and melodramatically hugging trees.

Finally, I got a great portrait of her almost by accident.  We were on the way back from San Antonio, and we had breakfast in our hotel's restaurant.  The booths had wooden backs that were hand carved and brightly painted in the Mexican style.  All through breakfast, Ann's face was framed by cheerful large sunflowers. She looked wonderful. and perfectly like herself.
So I ran back to our hotel room, grabbed my camera, and snapped her smiling, laughing, looking away.

I discovered something: Ann looks best in the colors and spaces she enjoys.  She has a lust for adventure and a love of bright colors that contrasts with her delicate coloring and her sweet personality.  The brighter and quirkier something is, the better.