John Peter Beck
The Photographer
Before the Shroud
of Turin, there was
the veil of Veronica,
who gave Jesus her cloth
to wipe his brow
as he bore the cross.
He returned the veil, filled
that instant with the image
of his face. St. Veronica,
often when I shoot a wedding,
I think of you, that first
photograph and your patronage.
I angle to catch all their smiles
and hopes for future
happiness. Later, sometimes,
I must turn the camera
away to make sure I do not
catch the drunken vacant stares,
the simmering family arguments,
or the small signs of infidelity now
or to come. You cannot blame
the camera for what
it captures or the film
for the images now forever
held there. In the staged
shots at the church,
the wedding party
line up and smile.
I tell them to say “sex”
since it always gets them
to laugh and smile. Sex works
better than cheese anytime.