lucy

just got back from a great one-day photography workshop at maine media. in short, it was a gentle nudge/sink or swim experience to encourage beginning photographers to turn their mode from automatic to manual, a big leap for me. if you are ever in rock port, maine, i highly recommend this place.

one of our assignments was to take a portrait. already i am out of my comfort zone. i came across lucy on main street, sitting on the trunk of a white '66 convertible ford galaxy, singing "wild world" by cat stevens. i listened for awhile, she was good. i dropped a couple bucks in her guitar case and asked if i could take her photo. huge ask. she seemed delighted and stopped singing and started posing. i'd move and she'd turn to look at me with that sweet sweet smile. things weren't going as i had planned. i suggested she keep playing. her music was very nice. she picked up her guitar again, now turning her entire body, guitar included, to face me wherever i moved. i kept taking pictures, trying not to hurt her feelings, knowing the photos wouldn't be as i had hoped. oh well. i thanked her and continued down the street. she went back to her playing, unaware that i was still watching. snap. thank you lucy. thank you for doing what you are meant to do, not what you think i want you to do. a lesson for all of us.