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Toronto Portrait Photographer || HEARTshots || Black + White Photography

Memoirs and musings of Darius Bashar. Toronto portrait photographer and writer, in pursuit of all things real, raw and intimate. 

SoftMen Portrait 001 - Ben Dussault

This is my friend Ben. We’ve known each other for about 10 months, yet his impact on my life is huge.

There is something very special and important about Ben. I don’t have all the language to articulate this yet, but I’ll try…

When I am around Ben I feel alive and curious. I watch the way he navigates through life and marvel at his openness. He reveals himself in ways I have never seen before.

His heart is so beautiful, especially in these moments of deep honesty. 

Ben isn’t afraid to cry. His emotions are so close to the surface. His tears heal parts of me that I didn’t even know we're hurting.

Ben is a talented musician who toured with many highly respected bands globally. Ben is also a health and movement thought leader. He’s really fucking good at this. 

But before any of that, Ben is an incredible father of two beautiful boys. It’s hard not to fall in love with Ben when he’s talking about his sons. But the truth is, I loved Ben even before I knew he was a dad. 

Ben’s not perfect — not by far. But neither are any of us. 

He’s still got plenty of work to do, and guess what?

He’s doing it. 

I love you homie. So very much.

Thank you for being Portrait 001 of the SoftMen book. I will never forget our time together.

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