Eddie brought me flowers

Eddie brought me flowers.

I was photographing on the beach today, nature was my theme. My main focus the past few years has been portraiture. It felt like the old days, being a nature photographer. I had the perfect infrared sky and beautiful beach scenery.

I am on a family Island in the Bahamas. A Bahamian man walked by and said hi, we talked about the weather, how beautiful it was out and how the wind had changed and was coming from the south. He wished me a good day and continued on his walk. A few minutes later I remembered that there are no coincidences and every event or person you meet maybe an opportunity to touch someone's life or vice versa. I wish I had asked him to model for me. I looked up the beach and he was no where to be found. I had missed a moment. My New Years vision is to be more courageous when I meet someone that I want to photograph. Surprisingly enough I get very shy and almost feel like it is an intrusion so I don't even ask. With that said I feel when I photograph someone there is a bond, a touching of another's life even if it is for a brief moment.

So I went on my merry way photographing more beach themes and dramatic landscapes. I was in the water on coral rock and had just photographed trees that are underwater when the tide comes in. Out of no where I hear this man saying I have been looking for you up and down the beach. I picked you some flowers. They were lovely, a deep dark pink with ribbed thin leaves, nothing we have in the states. The man had intense eyes and his hands were large and beautiful. After I said thank you and asked his name he started to leave. Oh my, I got another chance. "Wait Eddy, can I take a photograph of you?" He said sure. Didn't question my motives or what the photographs were for, or was I a professional, all he asked was..... "should I take my hat off?"

A man I don't  know went and picked me flowers, made my heart happy without any strings, maybe it made him happy but I think he did it to touch another's life. Such a kind jester. So my lesson was, you don't always get second chances like this. I am learning that when I am in a safe creative environment I let my guard down. I seized the moment, and then let it go. I capture the gift and I have the photographs to remember.