I met Haley a few months ago.  I was having lunch a few blocks from the office, multitasking and absorbed in replying to personal e-mail, when a conversation at the next table gradually began to register and brought me to full awareness.  

Looking up, I saw a young woman... Haley... and heard her asking questions of an older woman; just today I learned the woman was one of Haley's teacher's at the local community college. Mostly, the older woman was struggling to answer the questions, which were mostly related to photography.

After listening for a few more minutes, and finished with my food and my e-mail, I stood up to return to the office.  On a whim, I walked over to the next table, handed them a card, and said "I'm a photographer, let me know if I can answer any questions."

There were one or two questions, relatively easy ones to answer, on the spot.   I went back to work expecting that to be the end of it.  But a week or so later I received an e-mail from Haley with a few more questions, and asking if I'd be willing to take a look at some of her photographs and give a critique.

I agreed, knowing this is risky business.  Too many people show me really bad photos, and then I'm forced to find a reasonably diplomatic way to extricate myself from the situation.  But I've found a few gems in the rough this way too, so I keep taking the risk.  This time it paid off;  the dozen or so prints I looked at, back at that same local lunch spot over a cup of coffee... the photos were beautifully composed and the subject matter was well chosen.  There were the usual technical pointers offered to a young photo student, but clearly there was a great deal of creative potential here.

After that we talked by e-mail, off and on.  I don't remember exactly how the discussion evolved from taking photos to being in them; but at some point I was provided with a link to some photos of Haley, self-portraits, about the same time she asked if I'd consider photographing her.

She freely admitted to being a little afraid, which intrigued me.  So many first time models are, and so few are willing to talk about it.  We almost scheduled once, then she asked for more time. Finally, early this week, she was ready to set a day.  We met today over lunch hour, at that same lunch spot again, and walked over to a nearby alley with plain backgrounds and nice open shadows.

We talked about her fear, and she compared it to being in front of a large audience and speaking publicly for the first time; one of the better analogies I've heard.  She does speak publicly a lot, and I asked her how long it had taken her to get over that fear.  Her smile answered the question with no need for  words.

We worked quickly.  I explained what I was doing as I shot; let her see an occasional image on the LCD, explained why I'd composed it the way I had.  We talked, I said things guaranteed to provoke expression, then pointed out what I'd just done.  Moving into some places with tricky light, I metered manually and once again talked her through what I was doing to place the exposure exactly where I wanted it. I pointed out backgrounds, how I was eliminating distractions, literally  editing them out of the frame, while editing in certain lines, certain diagonals that would pull the viewers eye into the primary subject.

Haley isn't necessarily beautiful in a conventional "model" kind of way, but she has an interesting face, an expressive face... hazel eyes that can flash if caught from the right angle, full lips. Her poses, of course, are what you'd expect from someone who has never done this before. But I was really after portraits more than conventional "model" things.

We had only an hour, but she wants to do this again.  She's fascinated by the whole process. That works for me, I'm in Oldtown Eureka five days a week when I'm not traveling, it's easy for me to shoot over lunch or after work, and it saves me the effort of seeking willing subjects in this relatively small place.  When someone makes themselves readily available I tend to take advantage of the chance to practice with little pressure, to try new things just for fun.

It's especially interesting this time, because Haley communicates well.  I see her reacting to being photographed, reacting in the same ways that many women do, and I hear her say that she wants to explore particular aspects of being photographed.  I see the expectations imposed on young women, usually semi-consciously, by our media culture.  But here, in this place that is so much less materialistic than most of the U.S., those expectations are buffered by an openness, by a willingness to question, by a desire to understand.  By talking to her as we go through this process, by asking questions and, more importantly, by listening very carefully to the answers, I'm learning things about the dreams, the fears, and the everyday decisions of a creative young woman.  Better yet, through the experience of being photographed, Haley will almost  certainly become a better photographer in her own right.