One Shots

Artistic Connections

Dahlia got tickets to see her favorite band in concert months ago, and the day is finally here. She planned her outfit weeks ago, so she was prepared for tonight.

She was disappointed to find out that the venue doesn't allow cameras with detachable lenses. She couldn't bring her DSLR. Dahlia thought it might be for the best, though. She may not be able to get awesome shots of the band members, but that meant she could focus on their music. And that was really the whole point, wasn't it?

Her phone's camera takes good enough pictures and videos. The zoom on her camera would've been great though.

Dahlia got ready. She got her clothes together, already knowing it paired well from trying on so many combinations all those weeks ago. Her wavy hair stayed down. She just combed through it. Going through her jewelry box, she put on a necklace, some rings, and a pair of earrings. Her makeup was light—mascara, eyeliner, and a subtle eyeshadow.

Once that was all done, she packed her small bag with the essentials—keys, wallet, charger, etc.

Finally, it was time to leave. She called out to her mom that she was leaving. Dahlia came home from college for the weekend since the venue was closer to her house than her college.

"Have fun! Be careful! Love you!" Her mom rushed to say and Dahlia was on her way out the door.

"Love you, too." She shut the door behind her and got in her car. Before leaving, she put on a playlist consisting of all of the band's songs. It was time to get hyped up, like she was pregaming for the concert.

It was a fun drive to the concert venue. Traffic was light, and Dahlia blasted her music. She was ready for tonight and could barely contain her excitement.

She double and triple checked that she had everything, locked her car and made her way to the entrance. She scanned the barcode on her phone, and she was inside!

The time before she would see the band was only getting closer, and she couldn't wait. She had listened to some songs by the opening act and was looking forward to hearing them. But that level of excitement didn't come close to how she was feeling about the headliner.

Dahlia made it to the correct section with time to spare. She situated herself, ready to fully embrace the energy of everyone around her.

As she waited for the show to start, Dahlia looked around and people-watched–something she always did out in public. People were interesting, and she wanted to capture that, even if it was only in her mind.

In looking around, she thought she spotted a familiar face. But, she thought there was no way it was who she thought it was. Upon further inspection, it seemed her suspicions were correct. Just a few seats away from Dahlia stood Asher Vega–the band's photographer. She loved his work both related and unrelated to the band.

Knowing there was still a bit of time before the opening act was supposed to perform, she took a chance and walked over to him. "Hi. Asher, right?"

"Yeah, hi." He gave Dahlia a small smile. "You are...?"

"I, uh," she tried to swallow her nerves. "I'm Dahlia. I just wanted to say that I love your photos. I'm a bit of a photographer myself. I'm minoring in it actually, and I've been a fan of your work for a few years now."

His smile became more genuine. "That's really cool, dude. What's your major?"

"Design. I'd like to think the two go hand-in-hand in a lot of ways."

"Yeah, no, I totally agree. What kinds of photos do you make?"

"I tend to do a lot of street photography. Sometimes portraits. People usually bring me lots of inspiration, especially when it comes to fashion design."