Aslan
I was off my game, walking around the city streets for almost an hour.
I let at least 7 really interesting humans walk right by me; not saying a word, I was frozen by overthinking.
Maybe it was because I showed up so late. I had an earlier photoshoot with a client that went amazingly well, but definitely took a lot of energy so I decided to rest before leaving. By the time I had my camera ready and jumped into my car to head downtown it was almost 8pm.
I was losing daylight fast.
I couldn’t help but think, “Is today the day I get totally shut out and am not able to meet one stranger? Maybe I should just call it a day and go home.”
So I took a deep breath and slowed everything down.
Instead of placing my energy in a potential future encounter, I brought it back to the here and now. I became present to the fascinating streets of Toronto. So creative, so multicultural and eclectic. The sounds, the music, the fashion and the deeply interesting humans everywhere.
I almost forgot I had a camera in my hand.
Before I knew it, I ran into 2 super cool humans back to back (which has never happened before). The first stranger literally led me to the second one just a few seconds apart.
Aslan was the second human. I saw him walk right by me as I was finishing the first shoot and I knew I had only seconds to approach him.
He had this energy like he was late to hang out with friends. He was on his phone and I guessed he was looking for an address or maybe a restaurant.
In my head I thought, “There is a good chance this dude does not have time for a photoshoot, even if it is 30 seconds,” but I knew I had to ask anyway.
And I’m so glad I did.
His energy felt easy, free and joyful. I also loved his cryptic answer to my question at the end.
me: If you could send a message back to your younger self, what message would you send?
him: Leave the doors open. Be happy.
There was a good lesson in this experience: sometimes the most productive thing you can do is to slow down and let go.
Sincerely,
D
PS: If you are interested in working together I have a great promo for the summer. Send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.
PPS: If you want to see the behind the scenes video of me approaching Aslan and making these photos, check out my Instagram or my TikTok. It’s less than 60 seconds long and super fun.
