Portraits

Yesterday I was invited to attend a knitting group.
"You don't need to bring anything, just come!" was the exact invitation.
Further discussion ensued; any sort of handwork was welcomed.
I had been shirking the task of stitching the final lining of this hat that I made last summer.  Small enough to tote along with a spool of thread, needles and scissors, I grabbed it as I was heading out the door.
The knitters were curious about what I was working on.
I explained how and why I make hats.
"Oh you should SELL your hats!" was the group's opinion.
Followed by "I don't look good in hats" "I never wear hats!" and other emphatic declarations.

(That encouragement to market my hats followed by the assurance that they personally would NEVER buy a hat has me totally confused...yet it happens more often than one might expect).

The woman above was willing to model the hat for just a moment.
"I look ridiculous in a hat" she said holding it to her head with her fingers.
"I would never wear a hat!"

I dunno.
Maybe I don't understand what the word "ridiculous" means.
Perhaps one of my readers could explain it to me...explain how this lovely lady looks in any way ridiculous.
If the picture above defines looking ridiculous, maybe I have been hideously clueless when it comes to my understanding of beauty.

In my younger years I shied away from having my picture taken.
Lately I've been fascinated by portrait work.
I've been noticing how some photographs make me look ridiculous...and some times even hideous.
I've also noticed how other shots of people (and myself) manage to capture something like an inner glow, and the unique beauty that becomes more apparent upon reflection.
Sometimes I find a portrait doesn't need to include a face.
Hands...at work...also reveals a special beauty.

 

These are the hands of a nurse.

These...a stage manager who is married to med student.

 

I enjoyed meeting the young woman who brought her husband along...upon seeing her nail color I wished to get to know.
She was at the far end of the table...
Maybe next visit I will get to know her more.

*****

I really wish I could develop my skills in portrait photography.
I think I've gotten the hang of photographing flowers and birds pretty well.
Of course they are willing subjects.
And I've never yet heard one exclaim that they for some reason looked less than perfect.
Oh how I would enjoy photographing people so they could see how beautifully they are.
I would love to show them...and help erase the years of unflattering photographs that have been etched painfully into their souls.