A few weeks ago I went with my girlfriend for a weekend getaway to the small city of Chosica located just east of Lima.  I don't want to go into too much details about the trip since I am currently working on a separate article for it but I wanted to showoff one my all time favorite photos.

there are few photos in my so called "portfolio" that I truly consider beautiful works, while the rest are ok or mediocre, and recently on that said trip to Chosica I managed to shot a real beauty.  It was around 12am and I was walking through the main plaza park with Zdenka when we came across this little old Peruvian woman who was selling candy, beverages, and cigarettes with nothing but a sole candle flame to light her face.  It was at that moment that I made eye contact with the woman that I knew I had to take a photo of her.  I mustered up the courage and politely asked the woman if I could take a picture of her.  She blushed and commented "are you sure you want to take a photo of an OLD lady?", to wish I eagerly nodded my head.  I was so happy when she agreed that I took as many photos as I could, clumsily fumbling around with the camera settings to get just the right exposure.  Once I felt pleased with the photos I had taken I offered to show the lady my results, she even wanted a copy but I had to break the bad news that my camera was digital.  I asked if she had an email address but wondered if that was a dumb question to ask.  In the end I thanked her many times and even purchased some candy in exchange for her time.

The photos below have been minorly touched up in my digital darkroom, one is in black and white (my personal favorite) and the other in its original color.