Ask a Stranger...

Every day I see people I want to photograph. I see old craggy faces, swarthy faces, tattooed faces, scarred faces, pierced faces...everywhere there are faces which tell a story and mostly I hear the click of the shutter in my mind because I'm too damn shy to ask if I can capture their uniqueness.

This lady actually doesn't fit into any of the above categories except for the fact that her face tells a story. It says that she was undoubtedly considered a real beauty in her youth and that she has an inner light...it radiated from her as she walked towards me and even though she's a stranger to me I just know that she's one of those people who lights up a room when she walks into it. She doesn't consider herself to be beautiful now but I do and so does her husband. He was delighted when I asked to photograph her.

I just saw a beautiful, soft face with sparkly blue eyes and heard myself asking if I could take her portrait. Even as I was asking I was thinking...what are you doing Debra...she'll think you're nuts. But she didn't and she even likes the portrait, which makes me very happy.

The 70-200mmL series ebay bargain may weigh as much as a small family car but it is a very nice portrait lens.