banjoist2008
09-28-2008, 10:27 AM
This is the photo from the Wizard World convention that I found a few months ago on Flickr, and just found again. I’ll post a link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joits/2336141255/
There has never been, in my view, a more beautiful photograph taken of a more beautiful woman in the history of photography and women! She has the softest expression on her face; rich, deep and textured, multi-layered. The more I look at the picture, the more the mood seems to shift, almost changing in front of my eyes. At once, she seems demure, a little bit surprised at having the camera pointed at her. In the next instant, there is a calm recognition and approval, with the slightest smile, then it seems to shift to a sort of acceptance that anyone who possesses this kind of beauty has a responsibility to be photographed, and she seems resigned to this noblesse oblige. The eyes, though. The eyes are indecipherable, almost. I can see just the slightest trace of caution in there; just the smallest hint of guardedness, but it is quickly displaced by the sense of warmth, as if the eyes know they are capable of conveying impossible beauty, and choose to dispense this, but in the most understated way, as if they are engaged with a sort of game of hide and seek with the camera, and, having been caught, reveal themselves as if to say “You’ve found me out. Here is my beauty, but I’ll reveal this to you only. No one else!” There is an interplay between her and the photographer, but the eyes know there is more. That this will be seen by others, but that each one of them will relate to this one glance individually, personally, and the eyes, realizing this, convey an intimacy for that one brief moment. Because she is looking directly into the lens, the sense of presence and attention to the viewer is almost unbearable when factored in with the beauty. No pretense of glamour photography, no photo shoot false emotion. Just dead-on, real, caught-by-the-camera natural drop-dead gorgeous. No mere Helen of Troy here, despite the shared Mediterranean heritage. This is a face that could spawn religions, much less launch a thousand ships. The air must leave the room when this woman walks in, and all mouths fall into silence. The light exists to illuminate her face. The air around her celebrates its ability to sustain her life. The earth beneath her takes pride at serving to uplift her.
If I had only ever seen one photograph of Alyssa in my entire life, and it were this photograph, it would be sufficient for me to proclaim her the most beautiful woman ever born of man.
(PS – Gary, thanks and kudos to you for defending her out there on Flickr. You are a great friend to her.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joits/2336141255/
There has never been, in my view, a more beautiful photograph taken of a more beautiful woman in the history of photography and women! She has the softest expression on her face; rich, deep and textured, multi-layered. The more I look at the picture, the more the mood seems to shift, almost changing in front of my eyes. At once, she seems demure, a little bit surprised at having the camera pointed at her. In the next instant, there is a calm recognition and approval, with the slightest smile, then it seems to shift to a sort of acceptance that anyone who possesses this kind of beauty has a responsibility to be photographed, and she seems resigned to this noblesse oblige. The eyes, though. The eyes are indecipherable, almost. I can see just the slightest trace of caution in there; just the smallest hint of guardedness, but it is quickly displaced by the sense of warmth, as if the eyes know they are capable of conveying impossible beauty, and choose to dispense this, but in the most understated way, as if they are engaged with a sort of game of hide and seek with the camera, and, having been caught, reveal themselves as if to say “You’ve found me out. Here is my beauty, but I’ll reveal this to you only. No one else!” There is an interplay between her and the photographer, but the eyes know there is more. That this will be seen by others, but that each one of them will relate to this one glance individually, personally, and the eyes, realizing this, convey an intimacy for that one brief moment. Because she is looking directly into the lens, the sense of presence and attention to the viewer is almost unbearable when factored in with the beauty. No pretense of glamour photography, no photo shoot false emotion. Just dead-on, real, caught-by-the-camera natural drop-dead gorgeous. No mere Helen of Troy here, despite the shared Mediterranean heritage. This is a face that could spawn religions, much less launch a thousand ships. The air must leave the room when this woman walks in, and all mouths fall into silence. The light exists to illuminate her face. The air around her celebrates its ability to sustain her life. The earth beneath her takes pride at serving to uplift her.
If I had only ever seen one photograph of Alyssa in my entire life, and it were this photograph, it would be sufficient for me to proclaim her the most beautiful woman ever born of man.
(PS – Gary, thanks and kudos to you for defending her out there on Flickr. You are a great friend to her.)