Wives

So this post is for DH up NoCal way.

I wrote about dad's, and mom's and kids, and everyone else, just about, but not about wives. I've only "got" one, so I can only write from my limited experience, which is par for the course.

My "current" wife, is sitting right next to me, but has no idea I'm writing this, which is fun.

Cell phone glued to her ear, doing her daily routine, which is nearly all-encompassing, she is, as she is now, almost always by my side. Or vice versa, depending on how you look at it.

In short, I owe much of what I have, and much of who I am, in many important ways, to her.

Photography is NOT an easy business, especially when it is so much a part of who I am, and that can be difficult for anyone in close proximity to deal with. I get moody, possessed, deranged, inconsistent and selfish, and like Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, she often finds herself at the top of the crow's nest, facing down the storm.

I don't think I could be doing what I'm doing without her. And I know for certain it would not be as fun, nor would my life be as fulfilling as it is.

As for photographs of her, I have many. In fact I have entire books, archives of her, which I continue to add to. In fact I just stopped writing and took a photo.

I've got Polaroids, of many sizes and shapes, 4x5 negatives, 6x9, 6x7, 6x6, 645, 35, panoramic, Holga, Lomo and even many strips of photo-booth images. I might have more images of her than anyone else, or anything else.

The images I have included here are a trip we made to Paris in November of last year. I was in Paris to work on a different project, but while I was there I made a second, secret project, of her, while she was following me around the city.

This secret project, "Le Bruit Des Pas," or "Footsteps" is about her. There is actually an 8x10 hardcover book in my office from this shoot.

As you can see, many of the images she knows I'm making, but many others she did not. So, the entire thing was given to her, as a surprise.