Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We have all either said it or thought it at one time or another. Hell, I say it to myself every time I’m complimented. Yea, I’m feeling old, ugly and fat and think they must be crazy knowing full well that I’m not really any of those things. Of course, I’m thinking beauty is in the eye of the beholder and they must be crazy to compliment me. Ahh, the modern dilemma for most people. We seem to be a society who makes the ideal of beauty absolutely unattainable unless you can afford a plastic surgeon. 

Just a thought, but was Venus de Milo thought beautiful because at the time she could afford to eat well versus all the people who slaved and ate little and were incredibly thin? Just like Coco Chanel coming back and making the tan a sign of wealth. Why? Because she could afford to lounge in the sun and before that if you had a tan, it meant you worked outside as a laborer of some sort instead of working inside, which was intellectual and not manual.

So why am I thinking these thoughts in regards to this photograph? Because what we see in photographs so often may be superficial. What about the fact that this older man and woman are in love? At first glance, we see inexpensive clothes, tourist information and an over weight couple. As much as that drew me to make this image, the part that made it worth taking is that they were just in love and that was what was beautiful. I actually took this photograph near a major tourist stop in San Francisco during a photography class that I was taking. I was behind them fairly closely and bent over with the camera at butt level. Anyone looking at me would have thought I was nuts I’m sure.

As much as I appreciate tourists coming and spending money in my beautiful city they can be annoying. Walking at a snails pace when I have a place to go, wearing those God-awful San Francisco sweatshirts they bought for $5.00 and wearing shorts when the fog is in and it is 46 degrees outside. Why people think Northern California is hot and sunny is beyond me. But I forgive them as I have been a tourist a million times myself. However, I do have to say I never buy local sweatshirts.

So when I saw this couple I was in a different mindset. I was on a hunt for photographs. So when I saw them walking past expensive stores in Union Square while they were wearing Lee Jeans and Walmart sweaters, they were presented to me as strangers in a strange land but together in love. Protecting and comforting each other because they were simply holding hands. They were there for each other in the discomfort of their current environment. An intimate moment where they were bonded in an awe-inspiring place that they admired but knew they did not belong.

So beauty is in the eye of the beholder if you can take the time to really, really see it.