I am absolutely thrilled to have Anne-Marie on board in this Celebration of Women & Beauty Through Visual Imagery.

When I asked her to be a part of this project, I could really feel her apprehension and vulnerability. In experiencing her this way, I just knew she would be perfect.

I was not wrong, our conversation was fantastic.

I go into these conversations completely EMPTY. I have no agenda or expectation. I do have some set questions in mind, however, the guts of the conversation comes from my subject.

Anne-Marie was open, honest, vulnerable and real in sharing herself with me.

As a young women, her experience of physical beauty was a reflection of how men related to her. She found this to be a very negative experience, it almost took her self-esteem away. She told me that she wanted to leave how men viewed her and just become herself without their input.

Let me tell you, she shared some photographs that were taking in her 40s and she looked STUNNING.

You have probably heard the term “Trophy Girlfriend”. Well this was her occurring world and It became a huge burden as she experienced the limitations of her physical beauty through the eyes and behaviour of others.

In her own words: ""Beauty had to be deeper than the way that men viewed me".

When viewed in this context, I am not surprised by some of the revelations that came out in her self-expression. I was delighted by the realness of her life. I got present to the fact that as a physically attractive women, I could see why men would relate to her as a physical being.

We entered a space where we got to see the dawning of a new possibility, a new realm of expression and possibility. As you can see from her photograph, she present a solid presence as a women, the eyes are strong and confident - the vulnerability is still there, I can feel it.

Our conversation covered areas of physical and emotional intimacy, being liked and appreciated for who we really are. We questioned the reality of authentic beauty beyond the composition of our DNA.

Truly stunning was the realisation, that here we are at a very mature age questioning “Who Am I”.

Out of her own mouth, I heard Anne-Marie say, “I want people to look at my photograph and feel I have a lot more to contribute and share.

Just consider; love, contribution, being of service to others are virtues rooted in the realm of beauty and spirit. Our bodies are ageing, who we were in our 40s is an old conversation. What we look like today is the reality of what we look like.

Our spirit is everlasting and unchanging.

Study Anne-Marie’s photograph.

​Allow yourself to feel what she is communicating.

Thank you for reading.

Michael Vincent

I knew once I started this project that my conversations would feature women who have lived. Women who have seen life, embraced challenges and become extraordinary as a result.

This is my friend Martina.

Isn't she lovely?

Stevie Wonder would think so - he would see Martina's beauty without any problems.

I would challenge any one reading this blog post to spend 10 minutes in Martina's company and not feel her power.

I experienced Martina's power one Sunday morning at Church when she asked me to help here sort the numbers for the Hymn Board - she said "you look tall to me, so you can reach the numbers and change them". Such was her force of personality, I did not even feel the need to refuse. I found her charming and just plain lovely.

Today, we had a magical conversation about her life growing up in Germany.

I told her I am going to perform in Poland in Krakow very soon. Martina then told me stories about grown up in war torn Germany, experiencing the devastation of war and bombings as a teenager. Can you imagine being a teenager living through this very difficult time?

Our conversation about my project revealed some interesting facts about how she saw herself regarding her personal beauty. She grew up feeling she wasn't beautiful compared to her friends. She also said having this point of view meant she did not experience any harassment from boys like her friends did. She decided to just get on with the job of living, dealing with life, challenges, upsets and being a good person. being strong willed, determined and a demonstration of rock solid faith.

​I listened with rapt attention; she also said, "people may be beautiful to look at and just plain ugly on the inside". 

This comment is the very essence of my project simply because Martina embodies the very ethos of inner beauty, generosity of spirit, compassion, service to others, contribution sharing, kindness and love.

My afternoon with her was delightful with Tea, Biscuits, Cake, Sandwiches and conversation about the true meaning of beauty.

If you are in any doubt about what true beauty looks like, study Martina's photograph. I feel very happy looking at this image because it inspires me, it makes me feel good and just joyful.

With this image, I feel I have brought glory to the living force because Martina is a wonderful divine expression of the living force in human form.
xx

This is Carole.
We have known each other for over twenty years. This image was one of a few that was created towards the end of our day together.
What is intetesting was the realisation about what worked and what didn’t. I will let Carole tell you about that.
My point of view in this post is very matter of fact. 
This image would not have been possible without the long conversation before hand. 
We spoke about beauty, DNA, self image, the construct of identity just to unlock one fundamental truth. That truth is simply the fact that as human beings, we are truly creative beings and create ourselves to be any character.
Now, this character, is it who we are? 
Does it honour us and our creative life force?
Is this creation just an act to
Look good and survive?
Who are we really?
How do you know YOU are being authentically you? 
All, I can say is, when this image was created in Camera and Carole saw it on the live view screen of my camera, she lit up like a Christmas Tree. What followed next was her realisation about how she felt about her self-expression and then she experienced her personal breakthrough.
Now, there are two stories in this image. 
Carole will share hers. 
I am sharing mine right now.
A Celebration of Women & Beauty Through Visual Imagery is much
more than a collection of image of women. This is about the conversation we have with ourselves about how we look, how we present ourselves to the world. This is about how we see ourselves, self image, it’s about self acceptance, self love, celebrating ourselves as a devine expression of the living force.
Who is Michael Vincent in all of this?
Who I am is the possibility of being a man and photographer that supports all women in experiencing their authentic beauty beyond the construct of their DNA. 
I am the mirror of ERISED. 
Any women who is courageous enough to participate in this project and conversation with me will experience me full of power, authentic conversation compassionate listening, provocative questions, heartfelt love, appreciation and expert photography that will unlock the truth and set you free.
My intention is to create an experience where all of the women in this project don’t recognise themselves and actually fall in love with themselves.❤️
I want to acknowledge Carole for engaging in this conversation. It was a beautiful dialogue and I got profound value for myself.
I hope she will share her point of view. It offers a lot of deep insight which I believe will offer hope and possibility to any woman who 
comes across this post and image.
Michael Vincent
The Magical Photographer.