I had lunch today at the Sylvia Hotel with friends who were
friends of Mark Budgen who died a few years ago.
Paramount to everything we talked about was for me the
salient thought of stuff that we would never do together again.
In American Air Force display flights when one of their
squadron has died the formation will have that one slot with a plane missing.
Without Mark Budgen all those moments we shared in work and
play can only return in our memories. As the mutual friends diminish (there
were only four of us) those memories will fade to black.
In photography I sort of feel the same when I look at any of
the pictures I took in my past (even a recent one). The three pictures here,
all featuring a mirror have their flaws. Two in particular have feet cut off. One has neck folds (a
no-no!)
Could I retake these photographs? No. I would probably not
be able to find my subjects and if I did they would refuse. Time will have passed
and they will no longer feel comfortable shedding clothes.
In my photography I must continue upwards (I hope). But
it would be nice to shoot these again from a point of view of now (perhaps)
knowing what I am doing.
