Contemplation - a portrait of Christie

I do like portrait photography. Unfortunately, it's not an aspect of the profession that I get to practice too often, although I'd like to do more. There is something so incredibly powerful about seeing a subject's personality emerge from the facade people usually put up between them and the world. Of course, there is a bit of facade-building in any good portrait, but some part of the inner person shines through in the really memorable ones.

I shot this when Christie was 18 or 19. She and Mike came out for several weeks that summer and we got a chance to play at our friend Roy King's studio (Esperanza Studios) for a day. We did several costume changes and scenes, many with a bit of role-playing involved in the staging. But this one is one of my favorites because it catches Christie in a very pensive mood. I like to think something of her true self came through here; that it was not all acting in this shot. There is that old cliche' about still waters running deep. That is the feeling I get when I see this portrait of her.