I was asked to shoot behind the scenes of the Miss Universe China training this year and got to tour Sri Lanka with them. From photo shoots at ancient Buddhist temples to reality show races through cobra-infested rice fields, it was a highly entertaining journey.
It is a photo of the face of a young very beautiful Asian woman seemingly emerging from the dark empty background. Her face is angled to the side. Two hands near her cheeks partially obscure this beauty. The hands are not her own, and must be a man's since the white shirt cuff of one hand is slightly exposed as it extends beyond the jacket sleeve. Her exposed shoulders with 2 barely visible dress straps are unfocused fading into the blackness. It must be a formal occasion. The hands and the face show and share an intimacy.
ReplyDeleteHer skin is flawless. Life has not yet had time to wreak it's havoc. Full lips softly colored with a subdued rose lip stick. Her nose is perfect for her face, understated with no prominent bridge. Asian eyes accented only with eyeliner, eye shadow unnecessary. The eyebrows are perfectly formed in a gentle arch, neither heavy or light, neither thick nor thin. Her jet black hair, pulled back, quickly fades into the black unlit background. One ear vaguely lit in the background.
One hand caresses with only the fingertips, the other hand the fingers curled with only the edge of the thumb on her face. The glimmer of a smile. The thumb attempts to brush away the slight line of liquid running down her cheek from the eye. The eyes are brimming. Liquid gently and silently runs from the nose over the closed lips, down the chin, and a tear drop is about to fall. The woman is crying stoically. The subtle tears of the struggle bring her beauty to its fullness.
From a distance, the conflict is not visible. She struggles to not succumb to the grief she feels. Pride struggles with loss. What courage to risk it all! How compassionate the hands that lightly caress, trying to remove this great sorrow.
Every time I look at it, I am nearly moved to tears. To take such great risks and to have such compassionate companionship. May we all be blessed in this manner.