About the Image(s)

This ornate perfume bottle was a gift from Alexander Bedenko, a remarkable Ukrainian clarinetist my late husband and I first met when he was a fifth grader newly arrived in our community. We offered him a place to stay, encouraged his music, and helped him obtain his first good clarinet ??” a step that led him to Interlochen Summer Camp and, in time, to the world stage.

Today, Alexander is a multi-award-winning artist, recognized internationally as one of the most accomplished clarinetists of his generation. He has performed with leading conductors and orchestras across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
This little perfume bottle, intricate and luminous, reminds me not only of his extraordinary talent but of the quiet beginnings of a journey powered by kindness, perseverance, and art ??” and of the joy of watching someone you once helped take flight.

Here I used my Nikon Z50 camera with a NIKKOR Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR lens (50 mm, 1/80 sec, f/22, ISO 51,200) to collect this shot. I positioned the bottle against a black backdrop, used natural light, and edited the image in Lightroom.