88 Stars
It’s been a while since I last did portraits. I arrive at the hotel at 9.45am. It’s too early and I need to wait for my subjects to get out of the lecture. There are 88 of them. I have been hired to photograph an astrophysicist convention in a well known Blue Mountains resort. These are probably the most intelligent portrait subjects I’ll ever get to photograph. It’s a good thing there’s a whole constellation of them. I talk to my contact. She suggests we do the shoot outside, in front of some greenery in the back of the hotel. All I need is a decent background, and the sun facing me. “We don’t want people squinting in the sun,” I tell her. It’s almost time. I’ve checked my camera settings. My flash works. It’s a beautiful day in the Mountains and I’ve been in Australia for almost ten years. When I arrived I had nothing, I think to myself. Now I’m photographing scientists. And then they start coming. The first person steps inside the …