Aries, Downtown to Midtown

I had been asking Aries for a long time to let me photograph him, and he always had a reason to say not yet. So when my godson finally said yes, I did not waste the chance. We spent the day in Memphis, starting downtown and working our way into Midtown.

We started on the bluff above the river, then moved on to the rail tracks, the trolley line, and the brick and brightly painted walls of Midtown. Aries started out a little guarded, but it did not last. Somewhere between the murals and the open sky, the smile he had been holding back came through on its own.

Photographing someone you love is different from photographing anyone else. You are not just looking for the right light. You are hoping to capture who they are to you. That day, Aries let me see him, and he let me keep it.