“Colpo di fulmine. The thunderbolt, as Italians call it. When love strikes someone like lightning, so powerful and intense it can’t be denied. It’s beautiful and messy, cracking a chest open and spilling their soul out for the world to see. It turns a person inside out, and there’s no going back from it. Once the thunderbolt hits, your life is irrevocably changed.”
I am, I confess, not naturally drawn to portraiture, but I met a muse whom I fell in love with at first sight. He turned me inside out, and changed my life and my approach to portraiture. The first time I met him I was inspired to photograph him. I only had two of my Holgas with me, 16 shots left, and 15 minutes of his time. I got one great shot out of that session (At First Sight), and he allowed me to photograph him on two more occasions. I used plastic cameras and my digital camera. I got some wonderful shots with the digital camera, but I loved the plastic cameras because of their flawed unpredictability, and the flawed unpredictability of human beings is a natural match for these cameras. I think the flaws impart an emotion, a beauty that perfection doesn't always convey.
