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Bo Hanley could make friends anywhere -- and he did, regularly. He was of the belief that strangers were friends he had not yet met. So when he saw a cute girl looking over photography supplies at one of his favorite spots, the 6'5" 22-year-old had struck up a conversation with her, gleaned her name, and invited her to hang out whenever she had free time. A few visits for coffee and photos later, and Bo had made another friend.

That day, he had noticed a particular beautiful sunrise over the beach and decided to text Castille -- who else could appreciate the photographic value of this moment? Besides, he had nothing to do for the day. He could easily spend it taking photos and hanging out with her. It had been at least two weeks since they had seen each other.

After texting her an address, Bo hopped over to the corner cafe that overlooked the beach. It was 3PM by now -- sunrise having long past -- but it didn't mean the beach still wasn't beautiful enough to take a photo of. He sipped on a slushie, tweaked the settings on his own camera, and waited for Castille to show up. Probably one of the few times in his life he had actually been the first person to show up for a hangout.

"Castiiiiille," Bo sang, hopping up and pulling her in to a quick hug. "You are radiant, as ever." It was a common phrase from Bo's lips, said to almost every female. He meant it each time at least. Bo might be free with his love, but he could be counted on for honesty.

Releasing the girl he took another seat on the outdoor patio bench. They were standing outside of the corner snack shop, just a couple steps from the beach itself. Tanned bodies were mostly leaving at this time. Most of the sunbathers who came in the morning were charred and done with swimming by now. It meant that the crowd had slowed to just a few groups of people, which would make taking photos all the better.

"You missed a spectacular sunrise," he said, sweeping on hand out at the horizon. "It stained all the sand orange, like someone had painted it. I snapped a couple good photos, but ran out of film. Had to switch to the digital." As if to prove it, Bo lifted up his multi-setting digital camera. He far preferred the manual stuff, but it required a little more preparation than suited Bo on most days.

"So, what were you hoping to shoot today?"

Bo lifted his camera and snapped a photo of her without warning, grinning.

Bo loved compliments, whether he was giving or receiving them. People who befriended him just tended to get used to it after awhile. "There is something so organic about handling film though, developing it, hanging it, not knowing what it looks like the moment after you take it. It's this surprise waiting for you. You don't have the ability to check and see if you did it right. You just have to feel it." His eyes took on a dreamlike quality. Bo was, after all, a very passionate person. "The romance of manual will never lose its luster for me. I like the intrigue."

Even so, he had a digital in his hand, and so, after snapping the photo of Castille, he checked it, grinning. "The best photos are the unexpected ones. That's how you learn who a person is. Capture them when they don't know you're looking." Bo clicked away from Castille's image without letting her see it. "I'll let you know my diagnosis after a few more." A wide grin split his lips, crinkling the skin around his eyes.

"There are some rocks down that way," he said, pointing. "The waves break over them. Very cool stuff. Shall we?"

Hopping to his feet, Bo waited for Castille and then began to walk, snapping sand, surf, and sun with every step he took.

Even as Castille was trying to politely stay out of his shot, Bo was consciously swerving to capture pieces of her in it. A flash of hair on the breeze, a pale foot sunken in the sand, a hand holding a camera over the crash of waves. He liked getting this tiny fractional images of people. It was like building memories. He could add the photo of her hair tossed in the breeze on the beach to his wall collage, look at it six months from now, and remember this exact moment. It was why he loved photography so much.

Moving closer toward the rocks, Bo paused in his photo snapping to answer Castille's question. "I've been around," he said with a shrug. It was true. Bo had been pretty much everywhere -- parties, beaches, woods, outer space. He often lost track of the last time that he saw anyone. There were many good things about Bo, but he had never been the reliable type. "Living life!" He grinned at her, then raised his camera to snap a shot of her snapping her own shot. "But now I have wonderful company again. Carpe diem."

The rocks were up ahead. Bo hopped on to a long, flat rock and spun back to face Castille. "How have you been? Any major life developments? Won an award? Saved a family from a burning building? Got a boyfriend?"