Driving with Sandra to a meeting one day in San Jose she turned around and asked me, with her own quiet intelligence and intuition, what I wanted to do with my life. To my surprise, instead of suggesting major jobs and big travel, I said that some day I would really like to set up a quiet life somewhere where I had time and freedom to do portraits of people.
Years have gone by but still I always have to think of her special insight: how did she know what to ask? Now I live in northern Spain, and I do travel a lot, I shoot a variety of jobs, I do exhibitions and I teach, but the core of my pleasure is the one-on-one with new people when I take them out in the city or into my studio to shoot portraits. And so many times when I am shooting, I think of Sandra. She has always had such a finely tuned insight, a precise intelligence, and a way of getting right to what you need to hear or think.
Yesterday I photographed a 21-year old fashion model from Chicago. She found me on Instagram and was planning on passing through Spain and so hired me for the photo session. The dream I confessed to Sandra so many years ago is now my life. Down to the last detail. I wish I could consult her on everything in my life. Her wisdom is immense.
David Hornback
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