Asu
In the fall of 2013, I attended the first annual Asian Festival in Knoxville. The gathering was small, with tents lining the left and right sides of the courtyard off Gay Street downtown. Near the back left side of the event space, I spotted a dark red tent — and inside, I saw a young lady dressed in a brilliant red and gold tapestry of color and texture. I instantly knew that I would have to travel a great distance before I could encounter anyone in this type of traditional dress again.
I approached the young woman and found that she was timid, and her English was difficult to understand. A tall young man stepped in front of her — as a kind of protector running interference. I made my proposal and promised to share a collection of the resulting images with her as compensation for her time. I’m not sure she believed me, but she agreed to my proposal.
While I waited, I desperately searched for an area to use as a backdrop for the shots. It was a bright, sunny day, and I didn’t want to deal with sharp, unbecoming shadows on her pale skin tones. There was a tree in the back corner of the courtyard that could provide shade, but there was a hideous brick wall with graffiti behind it that also made me gag. Could I photoshop this out in post? I doubt it.
To my left was something I hadn’t even bothered to look at before - a deep green building surrounded by garbage cans. The doors were closed, and I could smell it from where I stood. This prop turned out to be a stinky godsend. I knew from experience that a similar green looked great in black and white - netting a 60% gray — I also knew that the red in her costume would look amazing if I decided to run color versions of my prints.
Asu arrived with an entourage of protectors, and I asked her to stand in front of the building next to 5 or 6 garbage cans.
She looked at me like I was joking and then moved into position. It smelled so bad - but I knew the images would be magical. She posed for about three minutes, and I released her — I’m not sure anyone wanted to stand there much longer.
I arranged to meet with Asu to deliver a series of pictures a week later. Again, she brought a protector (this time only one.). When I showed her the images, she cried. I didn’t know what to do - I accepted the HUGE compliment. She was so happy, and they were much better than she had ever expected them to be.
A month later, I received an email from Asu. She told me that she had sent ALL of the images to her mother in China, and they were so happy to have these images in their home. I replied, “Asu! These images were for you and maybe your family if you have one someday!” I then promptly made a second set and arranged to deliver the new set to her.
Asu’s portrait remains one of my favorite images of all time.
