Iconic photographer, Todd Hido, needs no assistance and introduction. He is certainly at the peak of his amazing photography career. After some coordination and communication, I was invited to stop by Hido’s studio amidst his heavy schedule and recent return from a tour in Paris. His vast studio, sitting on a private drive just outside of San Francisco, was indeed serene and peaceful. Standing in front of the door, I glanced down at my feet, straightened them out and stood frozen for what seemed a long time, and finally rang the bell. Greeted by his kind assistant, Hido walked around the corner and immediately extended his hand and smiled with comfort. Getting right to it, we began chatting about work and life and a bit about me and a bit about him. We walked and talked around his enormous studio with never ending collections of books and photographs beautifully sprawled about.

As we continued, I began to see a humble man in Hido amidst his fame, and that he is just a plain good person. We are both Midwest folk so we identified with that small town connection. His photographs of rooms and those still quiet neighborhoods at night with hints of romantic colors, bring back smells and feelings of childhood...sledding down the hill in the back yard in the Winter and biking home with friends in the Summer evenings.

There was a moment, Hido looked at me and said, “...always stay who you are, don’t change that, no matter how much you question how you should be...”. As my eyes began to water, I nodded my head and we began to keep moving.

During my visit I forgot that Hido is one of the most sought after photographers, that he was the first photographer to shoot Dwell Magazine’s first cover in October 2000 (fun fact), and that he is currently shooting for Bottega Veneta's "The Art of Collaboration" for their Spring/Summer 2017 campaign, to name a few. He is extremely humble and down to earth. I left Hido's studio fully appreciating the power of connection, and that all people can connect and relate, whether famous or not, when given the chance.

Todd Hido, thank you for taking time to chat work and life with me, and encouraging me to stay who I AM in all things. Until we chat again.

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