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As great as it is to see your work, again, it’s even better to know you’re OK! Stay safe my friend! Posts: 5497 | Registered: Aug 2013
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Here's another woman I met. I'm pretty certain these photos were shot on a Monday.
It was getting dark outside and I was about to call it a night. I saw this woman sitting there, minding her own business. It was a pretty cool night and I thought it would be pretty cool thing to say hi to her and ask if I could take pictures of her. She was in the middle of doing homework. However, she didn't mind my presence and was quite agreeable to allow me to take pictures of her feet within seconds of meeting her.
Aridina is originally from Florida, but has lived in New York for quite some time now, and is a student attending classes at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in pursuit of a career in the world of performing arts (theatre and music theatre). Making this move gives her the chance to prepare for the financial demands of a four-year university when she transfers. How nice.
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Not before or since this woman have I heard anyone who's had a more infectious laugh than she has. Aridina has this cute and enthusiastic laugh that always gets other people to laugh along with her. It seemed as if everything I said made her laugh out loud. Also, what would happen with me on multiple occasions, she would start to laugh about something I didn't think was funny, but eventually I would up laughing too because of how good the laughs sounded.
On weekends, she likes to watch an embarrassingly sad movie. The kind of movie she knows will make her cry or the kind she'd actually be embarrassed to watch with other people because it's just so bad, yet somehow be her guilty pleasure. She also uses that time to binge watch Netflix because, "what else are solo weekends for? Not much. A date with my couch, a cup of coffee and a blanket is all I need."
I don't know how she was able to read the papers from her homework assignment when one considers that it was dark outside and that there weren't any lights close by. Eventually I was able to take her mind off of that stuff and concentrate more on the interpersonal dynamics between us during the shoot.
I like how these photos came out. These night shoots are so much fun to have in part because the feet becomes more of the focus. I like how the soles of her feet looked and they had something of a silky texture to it - smooth, shiny, like silk. Now when you approach random ladies, you're never quite sure if their toenails are going to be painted if her footwear doesn't reveal her toes. Either painted toenails or not doesn't really matter to me. Hers were chipping. When you approach randoms, that's part of the gamble you have to take, and I can't fault her. "If I had known you were going to see my feet, I would've had the time to better prepare them ...," she told me.
I understand, but that's okay. We had a nice conversation after the shoot was over. In the dark. But that was okay with her.
quote:Originally posted by aka.footjoyboy: MMMMMM, yummy!
I know ... they type to satisfy your appetite.
quote:Originally posted by Lars: Hey National.
Stay safe in this crazy time.
Best from Denmark.
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: As great as it is to see your work, again, it’s even better to know you’re OK! Stay safe my friend!
Thanks for your support. I'm fine and my health has not given up on me. Yesterday morning, I saw the Navy Hospital Ship USNS Comfort right outside my bedroom window minutes before docking at Pier 90, just three blocks from where I live. You had to have been there to see it for yourself to realize just how much that meant to people. It was quite a sight to behold. I had to see it up close, and so I did later in the day. I'm hopeful that this will mark the beginning of the end of the virus wreaking havoc the way it has.
In this March that has been different than any other March you will ever experience in your life, where you are in a place that none of us ever thought we'd ever be in, just realize that we're one day closer to getting back. When that day is? None of us even has a clue yet. First, we have to get to a point where the numbers have to go down. It is until that time when we can start thinking about putting one foot in front of the other.
-National
[ March 31, 2020, 12:53 PM: Message edited by: National ]
Every day we see news stories reporting violence in our country. We see video recordings from people who were there, we see reporters on the scene. But who we don't see are the first responders who have put their lives on the line to protect our cities. Those people deal with the events as they happen to ensure safety and provide medical attention. I have personally photographed these type of women who decided to take some time out of their very busy daily routines to let me spend some time with them, to understand what it's like to be there in the most critical moments of someone's life. Here is a quick 'thank you' to the women who are on the front lines for all of their hard work and bravery.
TROOPER McKINNEY (First Photo, each row) Thank you for putting your life on the line in order to save those around you. Each day you wake up and put on your badge, you know there is a chance you may not get home to take it off that night. You enforce rules, ensure safety, and get labeled with a bad reputation just because you want to make the world a safer place. You run toward the things most other people run away from, and you deserve to know that your hard work and bravery does not go unnoticed.
ALLISON DAWSON, ENA MARIS THRON (Second and Third photos from each row, respectively) To Allison (who's a registered nurse) and Ena (who drives an ambulance), you are the difference between life and death. You ladies are the calm voices in the midst of chaos that says "everything is going to be okay." You see the most terrifying accidents that are too extreme for those who are easily made to feel sick, faint, or disgusted, especially by unpleasant images, such as the sight of blood. Seeing those up close leaves you with nightmares for weeks, and yet you girls continue on. You ladies have made a difference in so many lives, and your bravery, skill, and passion is seen in the lives you've saved.
*As a bit of a side note, the photos of Ena Thron were taken a block or two north of the East Meadow (a popular spot for sunbathers and families). The East Meadow has now been converted into an emergency field hospital to treat COVID-19 patients. Across the street on Fifth Avenue sits one of Mount Sinai's several medical campuses within the city.*
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As my way of wrapping up Women's History Month - and commemorating, encouraging, and observing the celebration of the vital role these ladies have played, thank you for going to work with the goal to save a life. With the world we live in today, in the wake of this global pandemic to put a stop to the spread of COVID-19, it is incredible what you women go through to get to the bottom of solving problems. You are all amazing human beings.
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NATURAL CLASSIC I remember doing this shoot. The thing is I don't remember too much about her story.
Helen Helgesen is from Norway, and I thought it would be a nice change to do something a little different by taking photos of an older woman. It wasn't difficult at all to get her to do this, and I thought her feet (particularly the bottoms of her feet) looked quite nice. That's not to say I didn't like her toes, because I did. I'm a soles guy, so I'm going to be more partial to those. I also liked her footwear, which was another thing that caught my attention about her.
This was a very long shoot almost two hours (an hour and forty-four minutes, to be exact) and I really enjoyed every moment of it. She enjoyed it, as it made her feel appreciative. There is really nothing terrible I can say about her; there was nothing she did or said that rubbed me the wrong way. I don't remember how well her English was, but our communication with each other made the shoot very easy to navigate through.
I gave Helen a ten-minute foot massage afterwards and her feet didn't feel neither hard or soft.
In the end, a very enjoyable shoot, and it was a delight to have seen her feet, to be able to pose them the ways I wanted them to be posed. I was impressed.
HELEN HELGESEN - Click Here SIZE 7 (U.S. - CANADA), 37 (EUR), 4 (U.K.)
Natural Park - The Women of Central Park, Spring 2020
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Here we have a tourist from the U.K. I saw her leaving the park and something told me to see if she would be interested in this type of shoot with me. She was walking pretty fast on the way out the park so I had to do a little bit of running to catch up to her.
I thought her boots were pretty cool, and I could not help but think that she spent a long time walking in those. There are fourteen sets of eyes that keep the laces of her boots tight, but she opens them with a zipper on the side of each boot. The boots weighs almost 4.5 lbs, so walking in them means walking with a purpose. Those boots run true to size, or just little bit big if a woman's feet is in between sizes like her's are.
The boots turned out to be softer than she thought they would be. Really bouncy sole and she felt no need of breaking them in. She wore it for the first time for a twelve-hour shift at work and her feet were perfectly fine. She always wears them with socks as the embroidered roses are scratchy on the inside. And I liked that she has that "regular girl" look.
She feels neutral about her feet; she doesn't love them, but she doesn't hate them either. She liked them well enough to want to put a tattoo on her foot, and she liked them well enough to apply polish to her toenails. She's okay with guys with foot fetishes and can totally understand why guys find them attractive enough to sexually arouse them, which made it easy for her to decide to spend some time out of the afternoon with me.
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There was a group of four or five nine-year-old girls playing around us. For the most part, they kept to themselves. At other times, at least one of them would keep looking back at the shoot to see what was going on. Eventually, curiosity got the best of them and the group walked up to us to get a better understanding to what was going on.
None of them said a word and they just looked at us before looking back at each other before looking back at us. They were waiting for us to say something and we were waiting for them to say something. So there we were, not saying anything to each other. So I figured if I resumed with the shoot, that'll compel one of them to say something, which was exactly what happened.
"What are you doing? Like, what's going on?" the one who stood closest to me asked. "I'm taking pictures of her feet, as you can see." I said. The same little girl replied with, "I see. But why? Is there something about it that makes it interesting to you?"
She's a smart little lady, I thought to myself. The woman who I was shooting pictures of thought so as well because she started to laugh when she heard it. The question for me was, how was I supposed to answer this, while bearing in mind I was talking to a group of children and not adults.
I had to be quick witted with her, so I said, "Interesting to me? You can say that. If girls don't have pretty feet, then what's the point?" That moment was priceless for them because they looked at each other with the looks on their faces that said, this guy's good, and he has a point, girls.
Another one asked, "Are you guys, like, friends or something?" "It's funny you asked. We just met, actually." That other nine year-old girl seemed perplexed. I could tell she wanted to say something upon hearing that, but her mind couldn't help her formulate the words.
Then the girls I shot said in her English accent, "He wanted to see my feet. I said ok, and here we are. It's just feet, right? That's how I look at it."
So she and I talked with the girls for a few minutes, making small conversations about other things before they went back to resume their normal playing activities. They were in the backround of many photos, so those they didn't make the final cut in the gallery. The ones that did make the cut with them in it where the ones that either had their backs facing the camera so their faces wouldn't be seen or that there was something in the photo that obscured their faces.
After the little girls left, my subject turned to me and said, "I liked how you handled them. So funny (meaning the interaction I had with them), but I thought the whole thing was cute." Below is her name and her shoe size.
Someone asked me in a private message if the women I showed over the last few days were someone who I approached during the outbreak pandemic, with that virus that's showing no mercy on people. He said that if that's the case, then shame on me for not showing regard to their well being by putting them at risk for becoming extremely ill. I answered him, and I'm going to give an extended version of that answer to all of you guys to kind of clear the air with what's going on.
Were the photos I showed - and continue to plan to show for the Spring 2020 edition - taking during the pandemic? The short answer is of course not; these photos were taken before the pandemic. The long answer starts with a question that will be a piece of advice for anyone who does what I do, or someone who has serious interest in doing what I do, or someone who's just curious as to what's going on, even though he has no intention of doing what I do.
Question: Should guys be out approaching women during this crisis?
Answer: You shouldn't be doing that because if you walk up to a girl, then there's a risk that she'll visit her family, especially a relative who's elderly, and then infect that person with the virus. So I recommend not running up to strangers. It applies, also, to approaching strangers in the supermarket, let's say. Even if some outlets in the media may be blowing things out of proportion, there are many people who are still dying from this everyday, so it's not to be taken lightly.
So that's what I've been doing - not walking up to any woman in Central Park during this time of uncertainty. I cannot recommend with a clear conscious, particularly for anyone who does what I do (or is considering doing what I do) to be walking up to complete strangers and asking to take photos of their feet. Besides, not a lot of women are out there in the park or streets anyway.
No matter how smooth you think your game is, you will get strange responses from the ladies. I've gotten a strange response or two from women back at a time when life was normal. But can you imagine what their reactions to me would be if I walked up to them right now as we're in the middle of this outbreak ("hey, can I see your feet? I would like to take some picture.")? Since there's practically no one else in the park, there's going to be no one else around to witness you talking to her and she may think you're trying to rob her or give her the infection. So none of this approach stuff is worth it at this point in time. Besides, you don't know if she has the 'rona.
My journey through Central Park is going to be off in April, and I imagine that May may not be a good time to start visiting the park as well to snap some photos. I'm hoping things would get (relatively) back to normal by June, so that's how I'm looking at it right now. So my plans for June are still relevant for any woman who doesn't mind having me take pictures of her feet at the very moment I ask her to see them.
So again, I advise against running up to random women out in public because it's coming from a selfish place as you are putting them at risk, particularly when those women go to visit their grandparents or other people, passing that on to them, the same thing they got from you. You run the huge risk of adding fuel to the fire by increasing the spike of those who get infected. By going up to them during this time, you are taking the choice out of their hands if you approach them and initiate the conversation, probably getting yourself infected as a result.
So for now I'm staying away and keeping to myself. I must be respectful of their decisions, even though it's the last thing I want to do, meaning not meeting new girls. But by not going up to them, it's the most essential, mature, and most empathetic thing to do in the current climate we're in. There are people who aren't convinced fully of how this disease is transmitted, so it's not a good idea at all to try and start a conversation with anyone.
Yes, it has been a lull for me so far when it comes to approaching and taken photos of women. But when this dies down, I'm going to be right back out there. And the women are going to be out there as well because they're all cramped up in their tiny apartments and they can't wait to get back outside on a regular basis to enjoy the weather, to enjoy life again.
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Speaking of approaching these women, let's talk more about that -- this time within the confines of when life was good before all of this virus stuff began to happen, and in the future when this situation gets under control and we are allowed to get back outside to enjoy life once again.
How many approaches should guys be aiming for if they decide to go out there and approach these women out in the park?
Some days, if the stars are aligned, two out of three women I approach would say yes. Then there are other times when I would approach five to ten women and get absolutely smoked by all of them.
I can understand why guys would be a bit scared to approach women to take pictures of their feet. This makes sense and getting shot down definitely sucks. The only way to overcome that is to work hard at getting success, which will reinforce everything you’re reading here.
I find that the best way to get practice and confidence is to encourage yourself to approach at least twenty women a week. If you can do that, you will get plenty of experience and practice. This will only translate to more success in the field and a larger skill set for you to practice with. You may also find some success within those twenty women and that success will spawn more attempts.
Another important part of that number is that it will force you to deal with some rejection. Again, this is something you should expect and something that you shouldn’t be scared of. Don’t worry if some of these women say no, as long as you keep pushing towards that twenty, things will fall into place. Some of my successful approaches below (keep in mind that there were some rejections in between those shoots):
A REINCARNATION OF YOURSELF AS PART OF THIS ADVICE COLUMN On to another topic now that people are basically locked in their places until it is deemed more safe to get outside more often. There is this general feeling amongst people that since no one is going to be working, they are going to go about their lives a bit lazier than they usually are. I'm here to tell you that that is completely the wrong attitude to have. You need to focus on the mission that you're going to return from this stronger, more clever, more grounded, learning a new language (perhaps), and then hitting the ground running when life gets back to being normal. Now we have the time to focus on things we didn't have time to focus on before, meaning that we should emerge on the other side of this being a better version of ourselves than what we were at the beginning of 2020.
You want to treat this almost as a prison sentence with the end goal being that upon your release you're going to be bigger, better, faster, stronger, more intelligent. You'll get to be all of those things by making the most of this free time you now have in your hands.
You also may want to plan out your life. If you're at a job you don't actually like, if you want to be travelling more, if you want to take up a new skill, then these are all things you should be planning. Even if it's just sitting down once every five days with a pen and paper for an hour, no distractions whatsoever, and just jot down notes of the kind of changes you want to implement in your life and how you plan to put those thoughts into action. This could very well be a good time to clarify the next couple of years of your life, a plan of attack once you immediately begin to work hard and successfully at those new activities.
I'm going to post some resources beneath for general self development.
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There will be more women to show as we carry this Spring 2020 exhibition into the new week. So keep your eyes open for this thread in the next coming days as we continue to appreciate generous nature of these women as we see their feet coming out of their shoes.
So let me know what you're up to and how you're keeping yourself busy during this crazy time we are ALL experiencing.
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I like that I'm able to meet a woman who is different from the others I've taken pictures of. While some share similar interests or conveys personality traits that can be traced back to someone else I met, each woman still has a different story to tell. It's just like when you enter a bookstore and you see all these different books and magazines; the title of each book is different than any other in the store, meaning that you learn something new or gain a unique perspective on things from one book while learning something completely different from a different book from another section in the bookstore. When it comes to the Women of Central Park, no two stories are the same because no two women are completely the same in every sense of the word.
Now that she's at that stage in her life, Judith has more confidence and a better self-image of herself. She doesn't worry as much about what other people are thinking and she doesn't feel a need to always prove herself. She is satisfied with her accomplishments in life so far. She has her health, her family and a great job. Life is good for her.
"Getting to where I am right now took time and maturity," Judith told me as she looked back through the perspective lens on her journey through life. "Find something you love to do or have a passion for. Invest your time in learning and growing within that hobby and then expand even more into the good of the world. Enjoy time with family and close friends. Enjoy time alone too!"
Part of getting there was being at peace about who she is, how she looks, and making the most of how she spends her time being as meaningful as they can be. She gave introspective points of view as she reflected on her character and behavior and what makes life worth living to its fullest. She meditates to gain inner mental strength and peace.
One way Judith found outer acceptance and inner peace was by joining a naturist community. Exposing it all, and seeing others expose it all, has given her a profound outlook in learning body acceptance. Stripping away the facade the "culture" creates with clothing was therapeutic for her. In her home, she is very comfortable walking around naked all day. She sleeps completely naked; in the spring and summer months, she does away with the coverings.
"Being in the nude is like we have found understanding and freedom. When you shed the protection of clothing and ego, you become a much more open, actualized and understanding person. Physical freedom is normally accompanied by psychological freedom. When you asked if you could take pictures of my feet, I was happy to say yes because a part of me was allowed to be free, even if it's just for a little bit. My feet away from these shoes will do."
While it felt strange being nude outside with others at first, it eventually become the norm for her. In fact, she's found that nudity in general has become less arousing to her.
Her shoes became another topic of conversation, as I found those to be interesting. The shoes peak to how active she is to keep her body as fit as possible. Throughout the years, she has been an active (recreational) rock climber. In fact, that's something she still does at her age. She said, "I can actually climb quite well without ever being able to do a pull up!"
Judith is a member of a local fitness club here in New York that includes an indoor climbing gym. For her, indoor climbing is less intimidating than climbing outdoors, but generally she prefers being outdoors for the good views and fresh air. When asked about the risks involved in rock climbing, she acknowledges them but then added that life is not about eliminating risks, "As the old saying goes; a ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are made for."
She wasn't going to do any climbing that day, but she felt they would come in handy spending an entire afternoon in Central Park. She always wears socks in those shoes to help her feet get a better grip on things. One time during a climbing excursion, her feet became so sweaty that they were sliding just enough to start rubbing her feet raw. When she put on her socks, the problem went away and she felt much more comfortable in them. She wore socks on the day I met her, showing that she still takes that lesson to heart.
All in all, it was a nice shoot, and I think her feet look great. They definitely show signs of someone who is quite active on them when you consider the physical activities she partakes in. I love how the veins ripple and articulate throughout the tops of her feet. I really do like seeing that. Her hands shows the same signs as well. I wouldn't kick her soles out of bed, either. And I don't remember ever taking photos of a woman who wore a toe ring before this woman, so that was pretty nice to see.
She's one of the more easy-going conversationalists I've met, and she's quite the amazing person.
Natural Park - The Women of Central Park, Spring 2020
*For anyone interested in rock climbing, and would like to get a great handle on your dexterity while doing the climb, visit the site that's behind the makes and models of the shoe brand Judith wore*: Scarpa.com
[ April 06, 2021, 08:14 PM: Message edited by: National ]
A couple of shoots that didn't make the cut for one reason or another. They've been sitting around for I don't know how long, so I guess it's now time to show them to you guys. I have a bunch of these lying around somewhere, but for now I'll show these two in quick spurts.
The first woman featured in this gallery (the one wearing red) works for the New York City Department of Education as a third grade teacher. The funny part about that was she used to teach at the elementary school I went to. The two of could not believe what we just found out about each other that it produced a moment of laughter at ourselves. At first she didn't believe that I was a student at that school; I then asked her why, out of all the schools in the city, would I pick that particular one as my first one that popped into my head if I never attended a class there in the first place? That was a good question, and she knew it. She admitted defeat right before she took her off her ankle boots to show me her feet. She teaches at another school now, but that was a pretty cool way to start a conversation.
The usual day for her consists of providing instruction in a variety of subjects including math, social studies, reading, and science. She is sensitive to cultural, racial, socioeconomic, and religious differences among her students and understands how such diversity influences their learning. The class she teaches has a large number of students in the classroom, so she definitely has her hands full. She assigns homework, create lesson plans, prepare exams, and evaluate the students. She, like most elementary school instructors, is based out of one classroom and works with the same group of students daily. And she must also communicate well with the parents of her students, especially regarding any potential social or behavioral concerns she may have. You know, those parent teacher conferences where the teachers talk crap about you to your parents while you're not there. She's an expert at those, she playfully admits to, though it's out of love and for the good of the kids. She has to deal with unruly behavior and disrespect from the children, but she never gives up on them and they end up thanking her by the end of the school year.
Having that talk with her reminded me of what it was like for me being a kid. It made me imagine what it would've been like being in an elementary school at a time when a teacher was cool enough to take her shoes off, unbeknownst to her that I had a thing for feet, making school the last place I would dread going to. That never happened to me, but I kind of get the change to live vicariously through that fantasy by having shoot with women who teach kids at a school.
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Both shoots were very short; the one with the third grade teacher I just talked about and especially this next lady (the one with the sunglasses). It was so short, I almost remember not having this shoot. I don't remember how or why this shoot ended after just two or three minutes. The only thing my memory was able to remember about her was that she's from Helsinki, Finland. I also remember thinking that upon hearing that she's Finnish, that I was hoping to be in for pretty nice shoot because every girl I shot who came from that place turned out to be a classic. I really, really loved her soles. They were the type that made me think that walking around through Central Park was worth the exercise.
I don't remember how it ended, but I must've been disappointed. Well, you can't get what you want every time, and that applied here for me.
Alcoholic beverage sales jumped 55% compared to the same time a year ago. Online growth rates for alcohol are growing faster than in-store sales. Online sales were up 243% compared to the same period a year ago.
Given what has been going on lately, I don't blame you guys at all. To continue the tradition here, I will give you guys a helping hand to create some fine drinks to help easy the mood and to take your mind off of the chaos of our current climate, and perhaps get your mind and focus into something that's much more settling to you.
BOURBON OLD FASHIONED
- 2 oz./60 ml bourbon - 1 cube or 1/2 tsp. sugar - 1 tsp. water - a few dashes of bitters
Pour the sugar, bitters, and water into an old-fashioned glass and muddle with a spoon. Add the bourbon and stir. Add ice and a express the orange peel over the drink and drop that into the cup.
THE REVOLVER Reminds me of the girl I showed who I named "Revolver". In any event, this drink was created by San Francisco bartender Joe Santer, partly in response to the arrival on the market of Bulleit bourbon. The theatrical employment of a flamed orange twist made it a much-ordered drink for a time.
- 2 oz./60 ml bourbon - 1/2 oz./15 ml coffee liqueur - 2-4 dashes orange bitters
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass filled with ice and stir until chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a flamed orange twist.
To do a flamed orange twist, cut a piece of orange peel about the size of a half dollar. Light a match and use it to warm the skin side of the peel. Holding the match a few inches above the drink, quickly squeeze the peel in the direction of the match. The oil from the peel will briefly erupt into flame, showering its essence over the drink's surface. Then place that orange peel on top of the drink.
RYE & DRY This is a casual yet delicious drink that's a perfect last-minute recipe for when you have unexpected guests, or for warm lazy evenings on the terrace with friends. The savory, earthy flavors of the rye whiskey work perfectly with the ginger ale, while the fragrant citrus from the lemon garnish brings a hint of sharpness to round it off.
It only needs three ingredients, and involves not much more than combining them in a glass, so it couldn’t be easier to make. You don't need any tools or special techniques, just a bar spoon (or latte spoon), an old-fashioned glass and some ice.
- 2 1/2 oz./75 ml ginger ale - 1 1/2 oz./45 ml rye whiskey - lemon peel for garnish
Fill a rocks glass with ice cubes. Add the rye whiskey and ginger ale to the glass. Twist the lemon peel just above the drink so that the oils from the peel can add itself on top of that. Drop the peel into the drink and enjoy.
*REMEMBER: Drink Responsibly.*
Natural Park - The Women of Central Park, Spring 2020
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A competitive woman who loves sports. So much so, that she plays one herself. She plays hockey for an all-female team in Austria, if I remember correctly. If I got the name of her country wrong, then she's going to have to forgive me. This was her first time in United States and she came to New York with her team, although none of her teammates were with her when I saw her strolling through the park one Saturday evening. There was a threat of thunderstorm looming, so I knew I didn't have much time on my side if I had hoped to take photos of another female.
This was a pretty quick shoot, so my memory of this encounter is a bit sketchy. Her passion is hockey, and she feels at home on the ice. Women's hockey is physical without having full contact. They wear full face masks. I guess it's because woman's hockey isn't very lucrative and many of these woman probably don't want to get their faces destroyed. It could also be that woman are more easily concussed and don't recover as quickly as men, but that's just me speculating. She's not even tall, so it was hard for me to imagine her skating on the rink, competing in a sport like that.
As (deceptively) tough as this woman is, there is one thing she is really afraid of, something she wants no part of, and it's something she's trying to overcome. She has a fear of heights. She probably has a fear of being on a high floor as much as simply climbing a ladder. When I went to climb up the rock to set the scene of the shoot, that was when I found out about her fear of heights.
I asked what was wrong; from the look on her face, I thought she thought I was going to do something terrible to her once we got up there. She had her hand placed above her chest and her eyes were stayed opened as if she anticipated something to jump out from the TV to scare her. The cat got her tongue.
She looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear what she was about to tell me (there wasn't). Then she told me a little bit about her how heights have impacted her life. Even the thought of crossing a bridge triggers anxiety in her. She doesn't know how this all started being that she never fell from a high place. However, she feels dizzy or like she's going to fall or lose her balance when she looks up at a high place or down from a height.
I wanted to do whatever I could to help ease her fear of high places, however little that help might've been; that could turn out to be the first small step towards helping her live a life without having to live in fear. I tried to get the idea in her psyche that perceiving something as being taller than it actually is can reduce her risk for dangerous falls, increasing the likelihood that she'll live to thus do it again.
I extended my hand out to her. She held it. I gave her hand a squeeze as my way of letting her know that she could trust me and that nothing terrible was going to happen to her on my watch. She squeezed my hand back.
We proceeded up with caution. I felt her sense of panic when she perceived that we were much higher off the ground than what we actually were. Her instincts kicked in when I sensed she wanted to search for something to cling to and find because she was unable to trust your own sense of balance. She felt like descending immediately, crawling on all fours, kneeling or otherwise lowering her body. I had to reassure her that I wasn't going to let anything bad happen to her. She believed me and stood upright while still maintaining a very tight grip on my hand. All she needed were baby steps. We weren't too high off the ground before we finally settled on a spot.
We got the shoot started. I liked her feet very much. They were very moist and and felt very good when I got my hands around them for a quick massage, which was a way to help calm whatever she felt from being - from her vantage point, mind you - 580 feet off the ground when it was actually more like eight.
Without knowing it, she was talking about a variety of topics with me as if we were trying to catch up on each other's lives, completely forgetting that we were talking about how her fears just moments before.
She said that even though she would not have tried climbing up that rock on her own, the foot massage made her so wonderful, that she kind of realized just how high off the ground she actually wasn't, and that made her feel a little about herself and her confidence. She said that I made her day and that even though we just met one another, she had a sense of knowing that she could trust me with her life. I couldn't tell how serious she was when she said that, but I knew she was at least somewhat serious because she got a bit emotional about it. Considering what she has to contend with on a daily basis, hearing that straight from her humbled me and that made my day.
THE COURAGEOUS SPARROW - Click Here SIZE 8 (US - Canada), 38 (EU), 5 (UK)
The story behind the name I gave her explains her drive, motivation, and determination to keep moving forward. You don't compete in an organized hockey league without being deterred by danger or pain. She is given this name because of her bravery to face her fear of heights head-on, even if it was just for a short amount of time. It was a small step forwards, but it was better than taking a step backwards. She is given this name because just like that bird, she symbolizes joy, protection and simplicity. If someone were to start a new team that's built around her, it would be called The Courageous Sparrows. Team work and hard work are what make sparrows productive, and she has the heart of one.
Natural Park - The Women of Central Park, Spring 2020
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