My muse in a quiet moment eating her breakfast.

She’s being natural, allowing me to explore her, allowing for a window into what is happening. She is the perfect muse, letting go of any goal beyond just being herself so I can capture the moment. It’s the mundane imbued with a story, leaving room for the viewer to fill in the details. She is herself.

Trudie wasn’t sold on the image when I selected it, but it interested me because it shows a vulnerability, a beauty that comes from dropping any effort to make it “artful”.

(Later Trudie told me she thought to herself as I started to photograph, “oh, please don’t shoot this Ben, I know it’s going to show up on some gallery wall”. Actually it was a prize winner at the Rowayton Arts Center Gallery in Rowayton, CT and in my Pop-up one night show on October 9 at Southport Galleries in Southport, CT)