I Saw Your Soul

I had a somewhat magical time in Scotland at my good friend Amanda Ridings' birthday party (you might have seen Amanda here on meusblog.).

I started to take some pictures of the party as we prepared and sat down for dinner.  Nothing too special but just trying to capture... something... well, magical...  With the benefit of a few glasses of red wine and some incredible conversation I found myself pondering what exacty goes on when we 'see' someone...

I was in my car on the LONG way home when my phone pinged with this brilliant piece of work (I Saw Your Soul) from Hugh McLeod (@gapingvoid).  I've been a follower of Hugh's work at gapingvoid for ages and couldn't believe my luck.  As one of the party-goers, J, said, "You gotta love synchronicity..."

So perhaps this is the key to great photo-portraits.  This is what Hugh said:

"Intimacy isn’t strictly about romantic relationships, or even relations with family--sometimes it happens quickly, and often times in ways we hardly notice.

I’m talking about that moment when someone allows the world to see what’s inside...what they are really about. It’s about seeing someone for who and what they are and that the glimpse was offered either voluntarily or without the person’s knowledge. This is an incredible moment where our existence suddenly makes sense and all comes together in a singular place.

For those of who have experienced this, it’s something that never gets lost in memory or time. It’s like a little mirror we take out every now and then to remember a time when something so complex became so inconceivably simple. It’s pretty incredible."

So, I think that's about it. For great photo-portraits, the starting point is that you gotta see someone's soul.

It's that simple... and that difficult.

Btw - a massive thanks goes to Jason at gapingvoid ltd for giving permission to use this work.