half-frame by patrickjoust

There are parts of me that will forever be trapped in the past.  Even though I’m technically an adult, I’ll always feel like a kid in one way or another and rarely take life too seriously.  As long as I can pay my bills and stay out of prison, I might as well have some fun right?  We’re only on this big blue marble for a short amount of time, which is why I like to move to different cities, meet new people, learn about different cultures, and photograph what I find interesting.

I often think back to when I was young to try to remember how I viewed the world.  When I was in elementary school all I cared about was what they were serving for lunch at school (Salisbury steak and buttered noodles were always a favorite).  In junior high I realized that I’d probably better start learning something and was baffled by the concept of negative numbers.  In high school and college I studied way too hard to get to where I am today, not even using my degree.  I thought people who were forty were so old and couldn’t fathom being that age, and I still can’t imagine what fifty will feel like.

Sadly, I have only a handful of photos to document what the world looked like through my eyes during those years.  I didn’t have a camera back then, let alone a Leica like this girl.  The color of this diptych really adds a nostalgic feel, as if these photos could have been taken thirty years ago.  The candid aspect of these photos truly captures her innocence and curiosity, something many of us lost long ago.  Will she look back on these exposures when she’s an adult and remember her time at the National Gallery of Art?  Will she carry her passion for photography into adulthood?  Will her curiosity continue to make her look at the world in different ways?  For the sake of everyone, let’s hope so.