What I love most about life is the unknown: the nervousness
at which I exit an airport in a new city for the first time, the unknown
streets, the unfamiliar smells, the change in my step as I walk, realizing that
I am not hearing English as droves of people pass by me!
What I love about traveling is one thing that and only this
ONE thing: people glancing at someone and holding that gaze for a split second
prior to the smile or the smirk that is open, receptive, unmasked inviting~
young or old, male or female, street punk or societies child, it does not
matter to me about language or class, or environment, what matters most is that
connection that moment that says it all.
The eyes, the hands the body language, the smile, the hello,
the hand gesture to go forward~ The eyes lock on the hand extends and the
introduction has been made, the connection is there, the time is right~
Timing, exploration the unknown seeps inside my head, the
words rise to my lips as I say hello or slightly bow my head as to offer myself
to this moment, acceptance is the ultimate reward. My passion, my life centers
on this moment! My job depends on these moments. These relationships are real
they are tangible they are here and now.
The once unfamiliar smell becomes my smell, my walking stride becomes that
cities stride. I am home, I am comfortable, I am aware that I am only a guest,
I am conscious of my role, I am immersed in this moment. I get infective, I get
affective. I absorb it and I give
it back~ I give in, you give in~
I capture this moment I tattoo it into my memory, I etch it
on my skin, I reach out for the second time and snap the shutter. I am a
photographer, I am working, I realize that this moment is now gone. I am that
person that understands that I will never see you again. I will never have that
connection again! We both understand that this moment is ours, that language
does not matter, but what matters most is the time.
I leave that path that destination and I return home. I turn on my computer I open my email. I am pulled back to your city, to our time! Your emails come in 10 at time, from the beach, from the bar, from the yacht, from airport, from the streets, from the market, from the club, from the hotel, from every where~ I take it all in I digest it, I click out of my emails without opening one of them.
I stare at my desktop, I glance at the folder on my computer I click on it and I know that once I open it I am transported back, I am returning home again, I am lost in your city,*( our city) I am lost in our conversation, I am lost in thought as I flip through all of our images. Hours have passed and the emails continue to pour in. I’m already apologizing for the delay, I am already writing that email in mass quantity in my head: Saying thank you, saying everything about our time and how special it was, How we should stay in touch, and yes the images, yes I know how much they mean to you, how excited you are to see them. How much it meant that you took the time your time to allow me to do what I do.
I recoil into my thoughts as I’m selecting photos for my client, for you my new friends~ For you I am up at 3:52 am, for you I am retouching our images, for you I am ever thankful to you for making my life a little easier on the road!~
-MORE TIME-
