Holland (one last time) - And my modeling career.

(Me, after the Camino de Santiago)

Too funny! I went back to Groningen, Holland one last time. (I couldn´t get enough.) I had an incredible time as I did the month prior. And I had a lot of great moments but one in particular sticks out. And due to the artwork and raw unrestrained genius of my brother (Rights reserved, thanks Den!) I feel compelled to share it with you.

As you can see from the picture, I´ve trimmed up a little bit on the Camino de Santiago. And as I was walking through a clothing store (exploring the European fashion), someone approached me and asked if I had done any modeling before. I said that I hadn´t and he asked me if I would be interested. I didn´t say a word, just gave an expression of curiousity/contemplation and he said, "Come with me."

To cut a long story short, William is a very talented artist (nothing commercial) and he asked me to model for 2 hours or so. After some debate over a cup of tea, I finally agreed and we met the next day. Regardless of what you might think, it can be quite challenging.

Try doing this and really try it, "Smile, tense your stomach and arm muscles, turn your face slightly to the left, stand up straight, keep your arms to your side, don´t clench your fists, hold this for 1 or 2 minutes and now turn your head more to the right, look confident and after all of this, looked relaxed." Relaxed! How can someone possible look relaxed after all of that? That´s tough stuff for 2 hours.

And you have a wide range of "looks" or facial expressions. Look mad or angry, confident and my personal favorite, "sexy." I just laughed because I had no idea what a "sexy" look was. (but now I do so watch out.) I haven´t seen the pictures yet but it should be interesting.

Do this though. Get to a mirror right now and show yourself your "sexy" look. No, better yet, take a picture of it and send it to me. No, just look at a billboard or a magazine and everyone will have this look. It just seems funny at first but its very normal.

I joke, but William was very talented. He knew how to get the right lighting, the background, and even had me try on different clothes. We were walking down the street in Groningen and he just saw something he liked. We stopped right there and started taking pictures in the street as people passed by.

But the proof for me was when I had him take one picture of me with my digital camera. Just one. I was really surprised. Of all the pictures I´ve taken in my life, I think about 2 or 3 have been decent ("Good" would be a stretch). But the single photo he took in 5 seconds, seemingly without effort, I could imagine seeing it hanging on the wall at JCPenney´s. (at least Wal-mart) I couldn´t believe it. He was very good.

It was a great experience. Thanks William!