Lyndsey and Sergio enjoy wine tasting together, so it was only fitting to incorporate wine into their engagement session. I have this theory....basically, that we are surrounded by demands to conform, albeit for safety or the sake of order. And in this world of conformity, too often, we don't feel safe to express who we really are at our core. It is a constant challenge for me as a photographer and on a personal level to create this safe place and find what "sparks" those around me. For Lyndsey and Sergio, the "spark" was wine tasting with each other. We started out with some other photos, but when they sat in the grass and started to open their wine, that's when I saw their "spark". There was a stark contrast from the nervousness before and you could immediately sense a calm ease around them. They were in their own little world where they were genuinely content and happy in opening, smelling, and sipping their wine and in savoring that moment. All the formalities were stripped away and they were completely and exactly as they are.
In the movie Memento (which I saw this week), the main character, Leonard Shelby, is asked to remember his wife and he says, "You can just feel the details. The bits and pieces you never bothered to put into words. And you can feel these extreme moments, even if you don't want to. You put these together, and you get the feel of a person." As a photographer, I have to remember that if I have to create a place where it is safe to express the details that make up who we are and this will lead to moments and images that are timeless and a true essense of who they are as individuals and as couples. And with that, here are some of my favorites from Lyndsey and Sergio's engagement session...
I caught Sergio brushing Lyndsey's hair out of her face. I love these simple little gestures that couples do for each other.