The park, the photos, and the passage of time

I found these photos the other day while I was looking for new unpublished pictures to post as NFTs on my profile at rodeio.club and I came across these, which I took in 2014 if I’m not mistaken at a park near my house. Back then I didn’t even live here, this park was just a place where I used to spend my childhood and had fond memories, and it was really special to go back.

Now, ten years after these photos were taken, I live near this park again and it’s part of my daily life. It’s where I go to exercise, to walk, but mostly to disconnect, to escape the endless connections and stimuli that the internet constantly throws at us. Every time I walk through the small grove where these photos were taken and past the old mansion nearby, I can’t help but remember the day of this shoot because it was such a special moment. Looking at these pictures now gives me a warm feeling in my heart and a deep sense of joy for having taken them. I didn’t remember they were this beautiful.

That day I reached out to Amanda, the model in the photos, who was a childhood school friend, and she immediately agreed to do the shoot. I selected some outfits from my personal collection of thrifted clothes, which I specifically keep for my photography sessions, and we headed to the park along with a makeup artist. The makeup was beautiful, but in the end, there was no way around it, black and white speaks much louder to my soul, and the photos I loved the most, the ones that made the most sense for my portfolio, were the ones I edited in black and white. I hope you like them.