I would just like to wish a very happy birthday to a phenomenally talented woman who has reached the gorgeous age of 40 today. [link] From the moment I was born, she was my best buddy. I adored her. If I told you the things we used to sit around talking about (like her drilling me over old Star Trek episodes and actors- especially guest stars in particular episodes), you just wouldn't understand how great she was.

She's a jellyfish. Well, my mom and I say that in jest, and it's true over things that don't really count. She has no backbone over things like cutting off conversations with overly excited McDonald's employees in the drive-through who don't want to stop talking to her because she is the nicest person they have ever encountered and they just want to make that moment last forever. She's nice. She's REALLY nice. In fact, she's the nicest person I've ever met...but just try saying or doing anything bad to anyone she loves and that backbone will appear with a sword or two in her hands.

She was born an artist but not a self-promoter. It makes me sad. I have less talent but more bravado, and so people may notice me more. Things are easier for me...I wish that I could make them easier for her. By all rights, she should be a fantastically successful photographer and/or professional photoshopper. She's much better with photoshop than the professionals in many fashion magazines. Further, when she takes photos, she manages to capture that thing inside of people that makes them beautiful...even if they are cross-eyed with buck teeth, they are beautiful when seen through her lens. I think that that's what finally peaked my interest in portraits. I never liked having people "ruin" my photos (by being in them) before. Seeing her develop as a photographer really inspired me to see people differently.

She had always dreamed of doing nudes and semi-nudes but was unsure of how to get started, she's shy and lacks bravado- as I said. I was her first nude and semi-nude shoot. I was nervous to do them, but she's one of...O.K., I'm shy despite myself and she was the only person I would have done that for because there are few things that I could give her that she couldn't get for herself and I really wanted to give her this experience because she deserved it. The results? Well, I think that her style expanded. Since then, she's grown by leaps and bounds and today is incredibly talented (she was only very talented before).

To celebrate her birthday, my best friend and I decided that the best thing that we could possibly do was to experience Madrid, my city, through the eyes of harlequins (in photos). We enlisted the help of a good friend of mine who has a fantastic new camera, an good eye and works with photoshop professionally. The three of us spent the day wandering the more interesting sights in Madrid, taking photos, stopping occasionally in bars for drinks and tapas. Mark and I were truly amazed to experience a city from the point of view of entertainers. People open up to you, they stare, children cry or laugh...and old men found me really REALLY hot. (O.K., that was the really weird part- we couldn't get over how hot and bothered men seemed to get over me, especially really old men.) We wanted to tell a story and originally envisioned, "Harlequins on Holiday in Madrid". Interestingly, as we moved through the day, another story developed which was ultimately a tragic one.

The people involved in the story were Madrilenos, emigrants and tourists...even a construction worker. People were fantastically friendly and helpful and we brought quite a few smiles to faces.

I'm just posting a taste now. The story must be developed and the photos worked on a bit. My friend Roland took the photos, so they will not be posted immediately.

It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to. -the Hobbit