This is my favorite shot from the photos I took in the Valley when I was there a couple weeks ago for a story. It was one of about 150 I took that day, which was, coincidentally, my birthday, and most of which were, well, pretty shitty, although there were some that were OK. I was out of practice.
I have this thing where I don't crop or manipulate the image after I take it, because I want it to be the closest thing possible to exactly what I saw, because anything else, I think, is fake or bullshit, but it means I have to get it right when I'm right there, and sometimes when people are fucking about six feet in front of you, and the crew is watching you, and some guy from Fox magazine is elbow-to-elbow with you, it can get a little challenging.
Anyway, I like this shot because a) it's pretty, and b) if you cropped it so all you saw was their faces, it would look like the cover of a romance novel. And who's to say porn isn't romantic? Just because they didn't know each other that well and went at it like dogs in a matter of minutes, maybe that's true romance -- the ultimate intimate performance in homage to our one true love: the almighty dollar.
Once upon a time, someone told me: "When I dream, I dream of the sea."
These days, when I dream, I dream of the Valley.
