I want to qualify my words here to say that I am by no means an authority on beauty or the female of the species. In fact, I am probably one of the most amateurish in that field. Here I am after 70+ years on this earth and I still can’t figure out what women want. But that doesn’t keep me from telling this story.

I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. We were at Ft William, an historic Canadian fort on the north shore of Lake Superior. I was in one of the many shops around the fort watching the young man in the photo above demonstrating silversmithing. I had my camera in hand ready to take his picture when a young lady, probably in her early twenties came in the door.

Her sheer beauty struck me down, I could not believe that anyone would ever affect me that way. She had no makeup on, no two-inch false eyelashes, no seven-inch heels. Her beauty was totally her own as it should always be. Her pioneer style green dress and long hair with a silver bracelet in the back caused my jaw to drop. I never said anything as there was really nothing to say. By the time I came back to my senses she was already behind the counter walking towards her friend. I quickly snapped a picture, her back was much better than nothing. You can see from the young man’s eyes that he too was enamored by her natural beauty.

Every time I come across this photo in my portfolio a little of that same feeling covers me. I can no longer envision what her face looked like, but that is ok, it gives it a little enticing mystery. That young lady is now in her thirties and probably married with kids, but I will always imagine her in the tin shop in Ft. William on the north shore of Lake Superior.