Lizzy

People are the most difficult subject for me to photograph.  For many individuals, having a camera in their face causes them to feel self conscious. Their movements and expressions are no longer relaxed and indicative of how I perceive them daily.  Their discomfort also causes me to feel awkward and quite aware that I am invading their personal space (even if I have asked to photograph them ahead of time).  One of the only negative characteristics of a lens is its ability to invoke such insecurities in people, and thus capture moments that do not do people's true natures justice.  

I love the people around me.  They are all so beautiful and unique.  I sometimes find myself immensely overwhelmed with the love that I have for them all that my chest feels like it is going to explode-or implode- I can't decide which.  Being in school and living on my own has brought me closer to my friends than I had ever thought possible.  We laugh, we cry, we work, we relax, and eat with one another.  More importantly, we are honest, supportive, and genuinely caring towards each other.  During all of these acts, I have come to intimately know the way their eyes drift or twinkle, their mouths move, their laughs sound, and what type of mood each of their tones are indicative of.  

All of these elements morph together in a mosaic of their individual personalities.  Chelsea's sing-song laugh and her bashful smiling notify me that she's truly happy about something; Amanda's far-off gazes and lip nibbling are a blatant sign that she is mulling over some sort of problem and will soon light upon the answer; and Lizzy's giggling and beaming smiles (as seen above) are just a few examples of the beautiful moments I have the honor of observing regularly.  

I hope to find the luck necessary in capturing these moments.  They are the true and honest reflections of the wondrous souls within. 

*Disclaimer:  I'm not forgetting about the boys, I just don't think they care to hear about such things.