Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You cannot get there by bus, only by hard work, risking and by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you will discover will be wonderful: Yourself.”
Arizona. This is where I went and I took a plane.
This trip had true intentions which focused on exploring my creativity, challenging myself as a photographer in uncharted territory, and most of all appreciating my surroundings -- though half the time I had no clue where the road would take me or what I would see; who I would photograph. And I was okay with that. I did know one thing. I knew I wanted to photograph a real Arizona couple. A real couple who was smitten with each other. A couple who called Arizona home, sweet home.
Julia and Felipe unexpectedly became part of my Arizona adventure, and they were everything. Everything that I have been envisioning for the perfect couple's shoot in the desert. Papago Park was a well-visited local destination, but to me it was as exotic as it could get for this Illinoian. Red rocks, cacti and plants I couldn't pronounce. None of which you could find in the Midwest (at least not natively), and all of which blurred into the background when Julia and Felipe were in front of the lens. Not just because of the shallow depth of field (for you photography nerds), but because they danced and laughed like no one was watching, they kissed like it was their first, and they embraced like danger was imminent. Even when my camera fell to my side, I would see them continue this affection discretely. I looked at them, then I looked at the Arizona sunset and smiled. This was exactly where I needed to be.
Until next time, Arizona.
