model is Karenna Mudd (@karennamudd)

This past weekend, I got the opportunity to take some photos of a friend of mine. I have taken some of her before, but this time, it was planned out, and we drove nearly two hours to find the right spot.

I have to say, it was thrilling.

It’s been so long since I’ve been able to work on something creatively–something that I love and appreciate and wouldn’t mind doing for a living–and actually enjoy the process. With my writing, I constantly have to remind myself of this quote:

“Writing isn’t like playing music, where the act itself is rewarding. It’s more like gardening, where the work is hard and unpleasant, but the result is beautiful.” Andy Weir

My writing, as of recently, is tremendously terrible. The story isn’t well thought out, the characters aren’t real, and, most of all, the work is so grueling (with no pay off in sight) that the act of writing is quickly beginning to wear on me. (I’m not saying I’m going to ever stop writing (that’s honestly not possible), I’m simply saying I am exhausted.)

But photography is a nice break from that.

The act of taking someone’s photo is something I used to see as relatively mundane, but, as I was squatting in a miniature wheat field, praying the sun would stay up just a bit longer, I was hit by the realization that you can make a person feel beautiful just by holding a camera in front of their face.

Maybe some people are uncomfortable with that. They think they’re too fat to be photographed or not attractive enough or don’t know what to do with their hands. (I know I definitely feel all of those things when someone is taking my picture.) The problem is, those things are never going to go away. And, at the end of the day, you, and whatever power you bow to, define what beauty is.

To me, it’s sitting in a wheat field, watching my friend beam back at me as I scream that she is the most beautiful woman I have ever met.

-Alexandra Eckelbarger

(Also, if you would like to see more of these photos, I have posted a bunch on my Instagram, @inkonthewillow, and am more than happy to post some on here, just let me know in the comments!)