a gift i got

I am sometimes asked: Do you know right away when you've made a good picture?

I answer with a resounding yes! Then I go on to talk about the little hairs raising up on the back of my neck, goosebumps on my arms, etc.

It doesn't happen that often, but when it does, it's almost like a religious experience. I feel cloaked in photo goodness and gifted by the photo goddesses.

When this particular portrait presented itself to me on Sunday, I only had a few seconds to grab it. A kind of calm came over me, and I felt nothing but gratitude and reverence.