gravity

 
She’s been a favorite of mine to photograph for several years now. Her mom and I laugh about how the fallen straps of whatever she’s wearing have become her signature style, and we’ve long given up trying to keep them properly placed on her round little shoulders. It’s sort of funny that I count her among my favorite subjects since I can’t say that the sessions with her have ever been easy. The awareness of the camera typically causes her to either retreat uncomfortably or perform unnaturally, and a higher than average percentage of the shots I take of her don’t make the cut. Nonetheless, I’m genuinely happy when a shoot with her family is on my upcoming calendar. I just really like her.

The inexplicable gravitational pull that one shares with certain other people is fascinating to me. Why is it that a perfect stranger can cross one’s path and feel so familiar, with interaction immediately flowing and almost lyrical in nature, and then others with whom history is shared can sometimes feel so remote?

Science tells us that gravity is a force of attraction that exists between any two masses, any two bodies, any two particles. Gravity is not just the attraction between objects and the earth. It is an attraction that exists between all objects, everywhere in the universe. So is it varying degrees of gravity that are at work in our interactions with others? I certainly haven’t a clue on that, I’ve only felt its mysterious effects and been left wondering whether natural law or divine interaction was at play.

Anyway, none of this has much to do with the image shown today, other than for whatever reason, I just really like this little girl.

 
~Cynthia

 
And speaking of gravity, I’m also drawn to a song of the same name by the luminous Sara Bareilles. Her voice is simply perfection to me.