I love taking portraits of people in love. I love taking portraits of people whose souls show up in their faces – most people do. Cindy Chambers and her partner Ron are in love, and Maria and I have known them along time, they are friends and followers of our blogs and we are all comfortable with one another. Ron is considering giving rebirth to himself, and Cindy and Maria share a love of good-hearted but independent ponies.

Animals reflect us, I think.

I have gotten in the habit of taking portraits of people who come to visit us. I have to be comfortable with them, and they with me. I was a reporter for some years, and I am skilled at getting balky subjects to open up to me and talk, or to pose for photos.

People often tell me they take awful photographs – Cindy mumbled about cold sores and other scars – but most often they take very lovely photos because photographs are not about beauty or perfection, they are about heart and soul. When you are photographing two people who love one another, it is simple, you just ask them to put their heads together and their spirits come shining through.

People rarely dislike or complain about photographs that capture their love,  it is simply a beautiful thing, whether it  shows itself or whether it doesn’t. When two people in love put their heads together, they smile and their spirit shines too.

Ron is considering starting an auto and motorcyle museum, he is a veteran mechanic who lives in eastern Massachusetts. I urged him to consider staring a blog to begin looking for a building and raising money. I’m eager to see what he does.

Cindy and Maria connect with one another, they talk like schoolgirls, laughing and sharing stories, especially about their difficult ponies. We had a fun visit. I like this new portrait dimension, it is a wonderful way to share the river of my life, and the people who run through it.