I may call my new portrait lens the “Kelly” lens because Kelly Nolan, manager, bartender, waitress and hostess of Foggy Notions (a/k/a The Bog) is the reason I have it. Sometime last year, I asked Kelly if I could take her photo. I was struck by the power and radiance of her smile, and the strength behind it.
The photo changed both of our lives, at least a bit. Kelly is known far and away for her competence and strength, and I was introduced into the exhilarating world of portrait photography. My new lens, a 135 mm one week old, is an exciting portrait lens. It captures the spirit of the subject, but also allows me to stand back a bit and capture the scene and the atmosphere where the subject works.
For Kelly, who works in a neighborhood tavern, family restaurant and biker bar, the atmosphere is important, there are lights and screens all around. Kelly is a fixed point in a chaotic universe, she seems to be everywhere, all of the time, ignoring no one, staying steady. And her smile is never far away. I thank Kelly for her smile, and for the way she has opened the door in my head to a string of creative moments.
People ask me all the time why I started taking photographs of Kelly – they have become immensely popular on my blog, and I have to say I don’t know. Behind that smile I saw much beauty and character and I wanted to capture it i my photography. Kelly has been so gracious about letting me do this, I am sure she thinks I am mad. I think she is the essence of sanity.
She may be right about me. But I am right about her. But she is quite beautiful and worthy of portraits.
The creative life is not about hanging on, but yielding to new creative moments, and Kelly has been a new and creative moment for me. And who can imagine where these instincts can take us?
If not for Kelly, there would not have been all those portraits, there would not have been a portrait show at the Round House, there would not be in my possession this lens to take her picture with.
The lesson for me is clear. Follow your bliss. Trust your instincts. Take the leap.
In the creative life, we never know where we are going when we give way to something new.