It's About Time . . .

It was in January of 2020 when I photographed what would be the last portrait session before the pandemic would bring us to a grinding halt. My good friend, Anthony Vagnoni, had referred me for a portrait of the amazing award-winning editor, Chris Franklin, which evolved into a session of everyone at his company, Big Sky Editorial. It would prove to be a high note ending that phase of my many mad-hatted career. Everyone there was fun & wonderful to meet, to learn about and to get to know, however briefly. It was a two-day session and throughout, my number two, Duncan Ball, and I were assisted by Big Sky’s ambassador, the warm and wonderful Thais Adams. The Big Sky offices are more like an environment and we were given free rein to plan a different setup wherever we wanted for each portrait. It meant a lot of extra work but in a space with such great interior design we were having a blast. Thai couldn’t have been more helpful and enthusiastic. In a long career of corporate portraits and event work where there’s often little to no help and a lot of “I hate having my picture taken” I can’t tell you how much the Big Sky experience made our days. And so it was that the last portrait of the last day came to have Thai as the subject. I had already suspected, and was quickly proven correct that Thai was someone who could light up an image. It was thrilling to have someone on the other side of the lens who could & would be “the subject.” She instinctively knew how to project to the camera. It was like throwing a baseball to someone who knew how to throw it back. It crossed my mind that there was an amazing amount of potential Tai possessed and while it wasn’t my photographic style I wondered if this wasn’t someone to collaborate with as a model.

Then came the shutdown. I battened down the hatches and withdrew. Paradoxically, I was quite content though though not without pangs of guilt. Social media seemed more of a hot stove than a helpful balm. Then, one day I realized it had been months since I had logged in. It even came to a point where the cameras were barely ever out of their bags. But I wasn’t depressed or unhappy. During this time I had been introduced to an incredible carpenter/builder from Colombia who had been living with his family in East Hampton for 25 years and this “please fix the hole in my deck” project became a 14 month long deal wherein I enthusiastically shifted all my creative energies into redesigning my forlorn surf shack into a Dwell-ready abode ready for its photo op.

Then, quite out of the blue, people would contact me about secretly photographing their wedding proposal, or maybe a family portrait for a special occasion. After at first saying I was retired, I’d give them some ideas and then end up by saying, “Oh why not?” The brief gigs were like a breath of fresh air because there was nothing but good, loving, happy energy; elements that had been in short supply. When several of the couples reached out months later to tell me how much they loved and appreciated their photos, i was very touched. And so I found myself thinking, “hmmmm, maybe…”

Then, late this January, almost exactly two years to the date, I saw a message in my inbox from Big Sky. “Oh wow, how cool,” I thought. But, sadly….very very sadly the reason for the email was of a nature quite different. They were asking if I still had the images from that photo session. They needed photos of Thai. There was to be an announcement that she had passed due to COVID, and the family would like some photos. Of course I had the photos back up on my screen within an hour, editing, retouching and staring at the images in disbelief. As she had told me at the time she couldn’t wait to show the photos to her little daughter I felt heartbreak for that now motherless child.

Now, a couple of months hence, as a long winter begins to release its talons, one of the engagement couples just asked me to photograph their celebration party this summer. And i realize with deep satisfaction that Thai’s daughter will have those images her mother was so happy to have made. I have always said photography for me is about time, literally and figuratively. It’s about making memories. It’s what I am good at. So, yes, it’s about time, and the time is now. Time to get back to work.

Dedicated to the Memory of Thais Adams. May her missions be accomplished.