I was in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2007 visiting my dear friend Claire during the Fringe Festival, debatably the world’s largest arts festival. We were walking back after a long day of taking in the sights, enjoying the festival’s splendors, hiking up the Crags, filling our bellies with fish and chips, when I turned around and took this picture of Claire – freezing a truly wonderful moment forever in time.

The look on Claire’s face says it all - pure euphoria. Happiness. Freedom. Bliss. I love this picture for that look on Claire’s face.

The photo is an inspiration to me for what it captures, implies, and evokes. It captures a sense of pure freedom, an exact moment without worry or care. It represents the reunion of two great friends during one of those epic summers that you are afforded in your more vagabond, youthful days. Those types of days that give you the opportunity to be carefree and to truly enjoy yourself in the present. This photo allows me to return to that time. It allows me to remember the festival in detail. It gives me the possibility to recollect all of those sights, smells, thought, memories, funny instances and jokes from that time in my life. Soaking in the festival’s wonderful art displays and being surrounded by such creativity- comedy acts, plays, music, visual art, dance and physical performances, dancing in to the early hours of morning, pint after pint, walking through the “meadows” late at night, the city thick with the smell of barley and hops - the photo facilitates the memory of those two grand weeks.


From a technical standpoint, the light dresses Claire’s face and body ever so nicely. Her body position, with her arms wide open embracing the moment, is natural and unforced. The colors are so perfect together – the blue of her sweater, the green of the grass, and the orange of her scarf. The photo in totality is quite successful. Everything seems to be in harmony. It evokes a sense of serenity, peace, and happiness which amounts to a stunning visual impact.

I love this picture. It is a wonderful picture of Claire and what it captures truly resonates with me.