day 28: self-portrait challenge

Hug when you hurt. You'll feel better.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I lost 100+ photographs -- REAL PHOTOGRAPHS -- in darkroom last night. Well -- the negatives. It kills me. Someone had poured A into B or B into A of the diafine, two-part developer, and it ruined every single negative. Nothing to save. Nothing to see....like it was never there. I DID the WORK. I saw the frames. It was three weeks of walking the city and shooting sublime moments. Moments where I combined all I'd learned: exposure, lighting, framing, balance, composition, geometry, shapes -- AND WORST OF ALL -- the elusive moments in street photography where it all comes together with people doing the unexpected, looking fabulous and interesting in one confluence of events. All the above and the fortune of the moment. Over 100 of those -- LOST.

This was my first loss like this. Everyone in darkroom seemed to help me hold my funeral moment. And then their jokes and comradery pulled me through and I continued to print from older negatives.

This portrait was taken, hoping for a wide angle view. I got as far away from the camera with the remote as possible and I found the biggest, most grand tree surrounded by color and landscape that I could find. Hug a tree. It's mystical.

After my experience in the darkroom last night. I went home and hugged my partner and my cat and it made me feel better, just hold onto the best people and love in my life.
So, please, hug when you hurt. Don't lash out and hurt when you are hurt. Gather your inner strength and hold it close - only for you in those moments and hug full of love. The massive wretchedness will pass more quickly.

"Love what this soft animal body loves." -unknown