I’ve been accused more than once of acting as if I’m the “sincerity police”. Never is this a compliment, and even though I’m fully aware I’m being scolded when these allegations come, a very sinister part of me is still thinking, “well, someone needs to keep phoniness from running rampant”. Rarely are adults as genuine as the sincerity guardian within me believes they should be. Which makes me pretty darn hard to befriend, and eliminates any possibility whatsoever of my living in Washington DC.

Isn’t it nice though, when a nasty character flaw can occasionally be a good thing? I may be a complete failure at formal dinner parties, but boy can I wait out a genuine expression during a photo shoot. I would much prefer a heartfelt pout to a contrived look of amusement any day. To me, the essence of a photograph should somewhere contain truth. By truth I don’t necessarily mean fact, but more the feeling that there is an underlying believability in what the image conveys. I think we’re ultimately stirred most by what is trustable. Though we may not even be searching for truth we recognize it…..without knowing why, we relate to it.

Though we may feel the need to put on masks in order to navigate and protect us in the world, to me the nicest moments are always—always free of them. And I believe that to be true for photographs as well. Ü



~Cynthia