Cherry Crush

Shay Bettencourt. If you were at the game that night, you could’ve noticed her too. We all have ways of showing our defiance. She flashed hers as a roadside attraction. Daring me to drive by without giving a look. Of course, i wanted to shoot her the moment I saw her. She had all what to look for in a subject.

Loneliness. Mystery.

A lot of people hide who they really are. They’ve become masters of doing it. Behind perfect GPAs. Behind fixed smiles. Designer clothes. People they hang-out with. Some have been hiding so long, they don’t know who they are anymore. That’s what I’ve been trying to find with my camera. Who they really are.

Desiree Thomas. She fits perfectly in the scripted world. Did everything with a natural grace. Comfortable wherever she was. Seems everything I did was to calculate to get myself somewhere else. To give twice the energy as half the result. We dated a few times, but there was no mystery.

A good relationship needs mystery.

It’s been said that a good photographer captures the subject. But a good subject captures the photographer. Shay had me, there was no doubt about it. I was drawn into her.

Her face spoke volumes. I became addicted to it. Her haunted eyes challenged me. It’s a strange thing that happens when an artist and subject clicked. A synergy is created. Each sense has been playing a role that’s very powerful. But it’s unspoken.

Say that out loud and you might kill it.” -Jordan Wells