The fox said, "I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat . . ."

So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near. . .

"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."

"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you. . ."

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"Then it has done you no good at all!"

"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields."

_{- The Little Prince, Chapter XXI}

Fourth photo from the Le Petit Prince project, which you can read about more here: [link] I won't be posting most of the pictures from this series online, but my class is having an exhibit at The Podium from March 24 to 28. There'll be a gallery showcasing all of our works, and I'll put up some prints as well as my whole book on display. The opening is on the 24th, at 6PM. _{If you see someone wandering around in black semi-formal clothes and a white tie, with spiky blond hair - that'll be me.}

I had the above excerpt in mind while working on this image. I'm not sure if it was an entirely successful photomanipulation, because it deals with a topic I had never been very good at - saying goodbye. What I did my best to express here is the ambivalent mixture of melancholy and hope that I feel before parting ways with someone.

The fox isn't wearing the mask here, as in the previous photo, perhaps to show how he has been tamed and no longer sees reason to hide any part of himself from the little prince. Soft focus to simulate how we might see the world through eyes filled with tears. I emphasized the golden hues in the photo to signify how the thought of the little prince's golden hair has brought meaning and color into the fox's life, which used to be boring and monotonous. While the time they spent together was very limited, their impact on each other will last a lifetime.

_{On a more technical note, I'll be the first to admit that I need a lot more practice in making composite images. This was one of my first attempts. It was made using a photo of me and China that was shot in a studio, with a stock photo as the background. While the end product may not be of the best quality, this project certainly was a great learning experience. I'll keep trying to do better!}

as the Little Prince
myself as the Fox (my own interpretation, explained here [link])
photography by Erving Go
background stock
editing by me

_{Le Petit Prince:}
The Little Prince
The Geographer
Kitsune
Taming of the Fox
The Garden of Roses