An Engaging Proposal

Prelude: As I mentioned in my previous entry “It’s About Time…” various realities have compelled me back to work. Not the least of these is being instructed that one of the worst crimes one an commit against oneself is to not exercise the talents and skills one has been gifted. So. . .

A Montauk Proposal and she said YES!

There I was minding my own business whilst pandemically locked down at home and, frankly, I was enjoying it, thank you very much. I figured my career as a corporate portrait and event photographer was over. But, hey, at this stage in my life there are worse things. I mean, it’s a five-minute walk to one of the most beautiful beaches on the planet; my studio (the Hat Cave) is down a flight of stairs, the local grocery store was relatively empty (and when it was “busy” everyone stayed at least six feet away from me just the way I prefer it on even the best of days). Certain I was happy not to be trapped in a studio apartment with a couple of other people or, may the Force forbid, one of my many ex-wives! Whew! No, Princess Ishii Kitty Kat kept me in good company and Netflix kept the stream going. What, me worry?

Then one day last summer, as things were getting back “to normal” (whatever that means) I got one of those curiously-titled emails indicating that someone was attempting to reach me via my website. Hmmmm. Who could this be? Someone wanting me to renew my extended warranty coverage on a car I didn’t own? Perhaps a service offering to pay off the credit card debt that didn’t exist? Or coul it be one of those aforementioned ex-wives looking to land another snark attack? Anyway, I had already watched the good films two times each so I manned up to locate the remote control, hit “pause” and I took a look.

Whaddya know but it turned out to be an inquiry from a potential client. He was a nice enough sounding young man wondering if I possibly would be interested in playing “spy” photographer on the beach at the famous Gurney’s Inn and record the moment when, ring in hand, he dropped down on the knee and popped the question to his girlfriend. Afterwards, of course, I would be “revealed” and we could get some sweet portraits.

Here is a good point to mention that I have a slew of wedding photography under my belt. But this was THE first time I had ever been asked to photo a proposal. I had never even thought of such a thing. I didn’t know it was such “a THING.” However, when one lives in Montauk one comes across a great deal many things one had never thought of before. At first, I played the coy line. I wanted to know a bit more about what it might be that I’d be getting myself involved with (as hinted, people get a lot of crazy ideas when they’re in Montauk). If nothing else, though, I felt I could draw on my ample experience with proposals to offer some suggestions to the young lad. At any rate, we finally came to the agreement that, yeah, this would be fun. I accepted the offer.

And how glad am I that I did! What a wonderful experience. We arranged a rendezvous point. It was Gurney’s in the summertime of the pandemic, so it was a fairly quiet beach in the early twilight. I had suggested the time and the place, knowing exactly when and where the light would be super primo. Luck was with us since the skies were clear and a perfect blue. I was out in the open but in case I drew a suspicious glance from the fiancee-to-be I played the part of a photographer procuring twilight ocean images. Though the fiancé-to-be and I had never met, careful logistical planning and regular texting easily solved that mystery - yes, modern technology can be very very good to have. Everything worked to a “T” including the eye candy of “awwww” reactions courtesy of totally random passersby. There were smiles on everyone’s faces. Mine, too! Wow, it’s amazing what can happen when love is in the air.

Afterwards, I headed home, a big five-minute commute and got to work. The happy couple had their photos on their phones at dinner and could share their joy with their world.

What a nice treat, I thought. I really enjoyed that. No muss, no fuss, easy peasy, in, out and done. Who knew? And that, I thought, was that. Then, just when I was ready to settle in with the remote control, I began getting a LOT of these random request emails via the website. Again: who knew?