PHOTOGRAPHER: Darius Bashar
MODEL: Nick Kindler
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT:
Things started slower than usual during Nick's shoot. Sometimes this happens. My style of shooting portraits is not based on time, but rather energy and flow. With my fashion photography and commercial work, Time is such a constant and intimidating presence. When everyone on set is getting paid by the hour, it has to be. Letting go of time during larger fashion shoots, could be a very costly decision.
With portraits, I cherish that I can create a space and experience that intentionally lets go of time. As adults we have been trained to be masters of time. This is a skill that can be very helpful in our careers and day-to-day lives. My portraits are an invitation to temporarily substitute time with play. I believe both can't simultaneously co-exist. When we truly let go and play, time becomes irrelevant. This is because Time is a construct of the mind, whereas Play belongs to the heart.
I remember getting a sense from Nick early on, that he was a bit concerned that we weren't moving as fast as he'd like. He wasn't rude or anything close to that. He was actually very kind and patient. He didn't directly mention it, but my spidey senses were going off that he was very aware of time. I could of picked up the pace, but my heart knew we weren't there yet. So we continued to explore and connect together. We listened to music, talked about his 16 year son and listened to some 90's hip hop and laughed. Pretty much the opposite of picking up the pace. :)
Then there was this moment towards the end of the shoot, when Nick suggested grabbing some photos with his jacket. The very moment he put the jacket on, I swear I felt like we both travelled 20+ years back in time. He instantly started channelling some new and very playful emotions. I was loving every moment.
ONE LESSON FROM THIS SHOOT:
From now on I'm going to invite people to join me in play and take off their watches and turn off their phones. Not everyone will take me up on this invitation, but for those who do...