Most of the time, the couples I see out on the streets are happy; laughing, smiling, hand in hand or arm in arm. It’s a pleasure to see and shoot happy couples. But it’s not always the case. Many couples I see seem to have lost that last ember of the early fire. I have a collection of images I label ‘Love lost’.
These images are not just of couples that might be having an argument, or perhaps are just having a bad day. The shots I label as love lost, seem to have a deeper unhappiness, something irretrievable, fun and friendship long forgotten. It’s sad. Many of these images capture the inner feelings, or lack of feelings present between two people. It’s etched on not just their faces, but their body language, the little interaction between them and their empty expression.
I wonder sometimes what caused such a rift, when did they drift apart, living together because of some reason other than the love they once shared. Maybe for their kids, maybe because untwining their lives and dealing with splitting their financial ties or the family house is too much trouble to go through. Maybe there’s an acceptance that this is what later married life is like. Maybe many people accept that relationships breakdown and can’t be resolved.
For some of the shots I capture, I wonder perhaps it was an uncharacteristic instant caught by my camera. An unfortunate 250th of a second that portrayed a couple in an off moment. But, for the most part, when you look at these shots, I feel it’s a window on their true relationships.
