lovers

Whilst on the topic of discovering photography, I was just looking at some photos I'd taken from almost three years ago now. They were from my trip to Europe, and at the time were of what I considered "romantic". 

This was probably my favourite shot. Like someone had laboriously spent an entire day scouting for the most Parisian looking couple in Montmartre and then arranged their embrace just so. In actual fact, it was spontaneously taken as I was being seated for dinner in a moment of disbelief. I seem to live out many clichés when I am in Paris. 

This 'dyptich' shall I call it is ostensibly less 'romantic', but the story behind it is a good one. The top photo was taken late at night close to St. Mark's square - I believe I was quite enamored by the concept, as well as the silhouette, of a bottle of wine against the Venetian night lights. The bottom photo was taken perhaps a day or two later on a different island. The sight of a couple setting out a picnic by the river had me all excited again and so click clack went my camera. It wasn't until I was back home in Melbourne sharing my holiday photos with my family did a sense of deja vu dawn upon me. Indeed it was the same couple in these two shots - indeed I had somehow assumed the role of fate's embodiment in all my click clacking of romance. Of the hundreds of thousands of couples who had spent that weekend in Venice, I had somehow absent-mindedly captured the same duo. 

I have thought about how lucky I was to have come across these unlikely, albeit romantic, circumstances. I have wondered if it would be at all feasible to track down the identities of these couples so that I could send them these photos with my regards. In reality though, there is probably nothing magical about these lovers. In fact, they, being young, have probably since found other people to be in love with. It's lucky then that at least I have these photos to fool me.