I wanted to photograph competence in full sun — no atmospheric diffusion to romanticize the moment. She's mid-negotiation, and the deal isn't going well, and she's better at this than whoever she's facing. The thermal updrafts are literal (paraglider insurance is a real industry in these Mediterranean hill towns) but also the metaphor: hot air rising, pressure differentials, the invisible forces that lift you or drop you. The Oromo-Provençal fusion felt right — East African negotiation cultures meeting Mediterranean market traditions, two peoples who understand that commerce is a performing art. I wanted her blazer sharp enough to cut, her camisole soft enough to betray the heat. Noon. No mercy. — Lux