Stopping to Smell the Rose, Istanbul Style {Peregrine Paris Photo}

Stopping to Smell the Rose, Istanbul Style © 2015 Chantal-Hélène "Chant" Wagner

One of my most joyful photographic moments came when I spotted a father not only stopping in his tracks to bends low in order to smell a luscious red rose at Topkapı palace but also picking his daughter from her stroller to get closer to the bloom to do the same...

The little girl did partake of the olfactory experience. The mother stayed behind.

It's one of those moments when the myth, or the proverb as it were, takes form right in front of your eyes. You just have to be quick and decide whether you'll have time to get closer or not. Probably not.

Those olfactory moments pass with the lightness and elusiveness of a butterfly, mimicking the fugacity of perfume.