Clara Ruf Maldonado // Seattle, WA
I’m about to make some chicken soup confession for the soul: I once had a few HARIBO Goldbears gummy bears - in Oregon - four (4!) days before this photo shoot with Clara, and I clearly was not prepared for what followed. I’m gonna do my best Bill Clinton impression here and say: “I did not know the full effect of these chewy, fruity gummy bears. I need to get back to work for the American people.” Four days after I over-consumed those Goldbears, I was still feeling the effects. Folks, lemme tell you, a sugar high is a real thing.
The evening before the shoot, I was worried… worried that I wouldn't be able to perform well due to my sugar high. I remember telling my friend Sarah “can we just cancel? Let’s tell Clara that I’m sick, and that we have to cancel the shoot.” Sarah quickly nixed that idea. Since we were in the middle of Covid, she wisely suggested that Clara might assume that I had Covid, and tell all the other dancers that I could have shot with during that trip.” So I did what any right-minded, sugar-high guy would do, and told her that I had an emergency and had to go home, apologizing profusely.
The next morning I awoke at 4am with a start, completely aware of what I had done, and entirely regretting it with every fiber in my being. I had somehow had Clara on my ‘to photograph radar’ for the better part of two years now, and I was distraught that I had thrown it all away, all because of a little sugar-high anxiety. I immediately messaged Clara, to see if we could salvage the shoot, but unfortunately she told me she had made plans, and no longer was available - but that she would gladly reach out to a few other girls and see if anyone was willing to shoot; to that, I was sad, but grateful. In the end, Clara texted me saying she moved her plans around, and that we could now reschedule our canceled shoot.
BTS Holga image made by Sarah Larson, accurately portraying how I felt
Needless to say, during the shoot, I was completely out of it, foggy brain, loopy memory - your typical sugar overdose reaction. You could definitely tell that I was on a massive sugar high. I’m not accustomed at all to those Oregonian gummies, and I will never try them again, not even in moderation. HARIBO Goldbears, sorry.
Maybe Elton John was onto something when he sang "And I think it's gonna be a long, long time 'Til touchdown brings me 'round again … Oh, no, no, no I'm a rocket man”.
Ironically, I vividly remember the day of this shoot. It was cold, easily in the low 40s. And on repeat in my head was a nonstop version of ‘Get it together. Don’t compliment Clara’s eyes for the 10th time. Wow, she really does have piercing eyes. Have I told her yet? It’s cold. Did we do this shot already? Let’s do it again. Her eyes. Cold. Where am I? HARIBO! Did I say squirrel out loud? Focus, David, Focus.’
Thankfully, after I confessed my sugar high to her a few months later, Clara said that she had no idea of my state of mind. In fact, she said that the shoot went extremely well, minus the cold temperature. That I made 10 out of 12 images in focus is a miracle. That I didn’t completely embarass myself can only be attributed to my handler, Sarah Larson. Sarah took care of everything, from communicating with Clara, to organizing my ideas, to making sure that I didn’t over compliment her. This shoot would never have happened without Sarah. Sarah, if you’re reading this: THANK YOU.
She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour 9:00 a.m.
And I'm gonna be (sugar) high
As a kite by then
December 10, 2020
