Mary: "At any rate, we're here now. This is the photo studio. Ready?"
Emily: "I think so."

Andy: "Emily! I was starting to worry. Is everything ok?"
Emily: "Yeah, we ran into some car trouble and had to take a cab."
Mary: "A very smelly cab."

Andy: "Mary- I'm so glad you came. I have a buyer who's very interested in several of your pieces. After Emily has a chance to see her new studio we can take a few minutes to talk about the deal."
Mary: "Sounds good to me."

Andy: "Shall we take a look around?"
Emily: "Please!"
Andy: "The main studio space is through that archway."

Emily: "Oh wow! This is fantastic!"
Andy: "There's a darkroom through the doorway there in the back, as well."

Andy: "So what do you think?"
Emily: "It's perfect! Thank you so much!"
Andy: "I also had them set up a digital work station for you. Why don't you check it out while I talk to Mary for a bit?"

Emily felt like she was living in a dream- her head was spinning from the thought of her own photo studio. She was quickly lost in going through the computer which had been set up in the front room of the studio- even though Mary & Andy were talking a few feet away from her, she didn't hear a word they said. What felt like a few minutes turned out to be a few hours.

Mary: "Hey Em, what time's your shoot?"
Emily: "It's supposed to start around 7."
Mary: "I'd better head out then. I'll be upstairs trying to wash the smell out of my shirt. After that I might be able to get some painting done."
Emily: "Make sure to wring it out really well so it's not too wet- don't need you getting sick!"
Mary: "I'll do my best. See you later!"

James: "What's this about Mary in a wet T-shirt?"

Mary: "What's that about James' wet dreams?"

James: "Damn, what crawled up her ass tonight?"
Markus: "Hey Emily, we dressed up just for you. Where do you want us?"
Emily: "Just through there- I'll be right in."

Emily: "I see you made it home without incident last night."
Tristan: "Not a single one. How'd you end up sleeping?"
Emily: "Like the dead."

Andy: "Good luck in there."
Emily: "Thanks, Andy."
Andy: "I'll stick around tonight in case you need something, ok?"
Emily: "Good idea. I'll see you in a bit."

Emily: "Is everyone ready? I'd like to start out with a few test shots first just to ease you all into this..."

As Emily worked she felt all her thoughts melt away into nothingness. All that mattered now were a few pieces of glass, plastic, and sub-micron sized grains of silver-halide crystals. For her, the photographic process was something that happened in her subconscious- the second she tried to think about what she was doing, it wouldn't work. It was as if she knew her subject intimately and was able to capture their true self on film.