"Energy" is the word I would use to describe this lady by the name of Mika. Upon meeting her in the afternoon and until saying our goodbyes, energy was flowing out of her. This was my first time meeting Mika and it was evident that shooting her was going to be fun.

We went to her place of employment: "The Rec Center”, an eatery that has been around since 1940. When we first walked in, I was greeted with hugs and handshakes from strangers. I could easily see why she enjoyed working here. You get a sense of family right when you walk though the door.

Lynyrd Skynyrd began playing from the jukebox and the sound of billiard balls crashing was the new soundtrack to The Rec Center after hours. I was comfortable with my surroundings and started to capture the moment. I started off with film but soon had to switch to digital because my film speed was too low.

As the night went on, we got to know each other better and it showed in the photos. We started with some pool shots since she was already playing a game. We moved to the bar counter, the bathroom, and decided to settle down right beside the claw machine. It was giving off the most light in the room, so I decided to use that as the light source. We started to flow better at this point. This was certainly the turning point of the shoot, and it showed. When you have someone who is open about what they want to do in a photoshoot or how they want to see themselves in the photographs, it makes capturing them a lot easier.

Mika was nothing but energy, a tiny sun that bathed those around her, and I consider myself lucky to have caught a few of her rays.