Testimony
The same time as an unexpected break-up
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That shooting was both a psychological challenge and a real adventure for me. When I got in touch with Idan for the first time, we agreed upon a date, which couldn’t be changed as I was living abroad. The thought of the sitting titillated me and made me laugh. I took it for a game and above all for an opportunity to keep a beautiful image of me in my younger years in view of my older ones. But the sitting proved to be more intensely emotional as it happened to take place at the same time as an unexpected break-up. I didn’t wish to put off the shooting and I went all the same. Every minute was a fight. After a few photos as we were talking of this and that, the photographer suddenly put down his camera and said: “There’s something wrong, I can feel it: you’re not embarrassed by your being naked but something holds you back.”Then I told him everything. My love affair, my life, and how turbulent and helpless I felt. On a mutual agreement, he kept taking pictures, while I was talking of my intimate life to a stranger. And that was magic. The photos were more beautiful and stronger. I felt they meant more. Their intensity appeared to be ten times as much. They showed more mildness, more reflection, and more power in the expression. Once the shooting was over we noted a real progress in the shots. I found myself really beautiful in some photos. Facing one’s own image, one’s “self” and making the right decisions to move forward. Despite being naked and vulnerable one can tackle one’s problems head-on with an iron hand in a velvet glove and move forward.
That’s what I’ll retain from the shooting and I’ll never thank Idan enough.