Chasing shadows

18th October 2018

Venice surprised me. I expected an overload of beach paraphernalia, lots of shiny muscles and an infuriating conveyer belt of dawdling tourists.

We started the morning with some light stretching with mocking commentary and the giggles set the tone for next 10 hours. The beach was packed and the motor scooters zipped around us like flies.
We took to a Sunday pace and resided in a quiet shady garden hidden from the chaos. Our base was perfect.

I felt more of an urge to shoot than before and as the sun beamed I found myself chasing shadows.

Jesse was leaning against a wall and locked eyes with me as I passed. I smiled and stopped. I asked to take his picture and he shyly nodded. I stretched out my hand and asked his name. He refused my palm saying his hands were dirty. I took it gently, shook it and he smiled and mumbled something I couldn’t make out.

As he stood in front of me I began to realize he wasn’t quite connected. He began pacing the wall and I was confused before I realized he was a little high. I thanked him and walked off feeling frustrated that we couldn’t communicate fully. His mood was unpredictable but he seemed friendly. He weaved off on his BMX, missing each palm tree narrowly but I was impressed.

We decided to end on a high and as I walked back from an epic drumming circle I stumbled across David & Kayla. They lay surrounded by shells and snuggled into each other for warmth. The sun was setting and the air felt thick with the smell of weed and the night. I chatted to them for a while and tried to hold still in the fading light. The images don’t do them justice. They let me in and, for a small moment I felt like I was climbing into a book.

OAO x