When we walked together…

I like this place. We used to come here to have walks along the river. He would say: “Don’t you think it’s funny how the sun looks when she mirrors herself in the water? It’s like she wants to know ‘How do I look today? I want people to see me like I see myself.’” I just notice the glossy sparkle that emerge from the water’s ripples. I like that the most. You never know from which angle the reflections hit your eye. Questions like that made me think about us. How do people see us when we are together, strolling like this, hand in hand. Do they see that I am happy? Do they see that he is happy?

Now there is only one question that I ask myself: Why did he go?

Notes

There is one big challenge when taking photos in the park: which of the many photos that you took are you going to present to the public as you feature photo? Ideally, when showcasing your photos you want to tell a story with the shot that you took. What tragedy lies behind those eyes? Which way did I walk to end up where I am now? Closeup portrait shots achieve that to utter fulfillment. It’s the subject’s eyes that connect with the viewer, telling him about joy, bitterness, pain, happiness, resentment, contentment.

On the other hand, there is something about framing a shot like the above. The feeling of longing and distance has often been a state of emotion that I find myself in. Therefore, right now this type of framing and composition belongs to my shot pattern in my head that I tend to frequent. It’s a simple composition, easy to achieve, yet the emotional impact on the viewer remains so strong.