Hope (#135) 11-10-12

A weekend art festival totally closed down the mail street in Venice. It was pretty crowded, so isolating individuals to speak with and photograph was a challenge. I saw Hope, who was a vendor, in her white display tent. She was selling vessels (vases, etc.) made from recycled products. The light was nice – from a distance I could see her eyes sparkle and skin glow.

But she had a few customers in the tent. I waited a few minutes until she was alone, and I knew that I’d have to be quick. I introduced myself, explained the project, and asked to photograph her. Hope smiled sheepishly, then laughed and said that she looked terrible in pictures. So many nice looking women say that! I assured her that she looked great, and she reluctantly let me get a few shots. I scrolled through the LCD and found this one.

     (click to enlarge)

She didn’t like it, and said that she looked bad in all photos. So I asked how she looked in the mirror. “Awful”, she said.

Sad. Is our society to blame?

Bob