Ritual Unveiling

Emily lives in the room on the other side of this window. I live out here in the cold. We meet at night, each on our own side.  It might seem like an odd relationship, but it works.
Because Emily wants above all to be seen and I just want to see,
and take a few pictures.
















Which makes me a voyeur, but I'm not ashamed of that. In French voyeur just means someone who is a seer. So all photographers are voyeurs, though not all are really seers.  A seer is a visionary, one who sees what others miss, who looks beyond the surface of things to what is essential, to what is usually invisible.

It's the Peeping Toms who have given us a bad name, stalking women, scaring them, masturbating outside their windows.  For the true voyeur, watching a woman undress is like the ritual unveiling of a religious idol in an ancient temple.   It's a sacred act.

Victor