Hi Frank, You sometimes have a way of verbalizing what I can only express through photographs. Thanks so much for your comments.
The woman, and her husband, were very kind in allowing me to photograph their child. I'd been watching them for quite a while, observing their interaction, and I knew that there was something happening between them that was worth recording. We'd separated a few times, Steve and I going in one direction, the family going in another, yet all the while I knew that I wanted to photograph them. Steve and I were in the aviary, and Steve was busy photographing a couple of ducks, while i kept thinking about these people. In a while they came into the aviary, and I grabbed a couple of shots which I knew were just a warm up. At one point the woman started talking to the child, expressing a lot both verbally and with body motion, and i started shooting to a climax. I had their permission to photograph. And then, in one fraction \ of a second everything came together: the child was looking at me, the mother was looking at the child, and the background then created a perfect frame, almost like a crown, or rays of light - I saw something religious - and grabbed it. I knew I had the shot, put the camera down, got the family's address so i could send 'em a photo. I then turned around and got a collateral shot of a duck, the same one Steve photographed. Of course, his was better. Sometimes I wish I had some good shots of ducks, or bugs, or even of a rock ... Shel > [Original Message] > From: frank theriault <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 7/3/2004 8:59:14 PM > Subject: Re: PAW - Mother and Child > > --- Shel Belinkoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > A couple of years ago Steve Larson and I got > > together for breakfast and a > > trip to the zoo in Santa Barbara, California. We > > had a grand afternoon, > > and Steve subsequently posted a few of his pics from > > that day. This is one > > of the shots from our adventure that I enjoy. > > Perhaps you will, as well. > > > > > http://home.earthlink.net/~sbelinkoff/images/motherchild.html > > > > Shel > > Shel, > > Indeed I do enjoy it. > > I'm struggling to put my feelings into words. I'm > thinking this is an "everyday" shot, but I mean that > in a good way. Mothers nuzzle with their babies > everyday, but that in no way diminishes the beauty of > it. Or the beauty of this photo. > > Now that I stop and think about it, that's what moves > me about this shot. You've captured an incredibly > emotional instant, an instant that occurs millions of > times around the world every day, and instant that > many would overlook, take for granted, glance at and > keep walking, oblivious to the beautiful moment that > they just witnessed. > > I hate to sound trite, but that's a very > life-affirming photograph. With all the chaos and > violence and evil happening around the world, > sometimes I need to put everything into perspective > and be reminded that such little moments exist. > > Sorry to have gone on. I suspect that another time > your photo wouldn't have touched the nerve that it has > tonight. For whatever reason your photo moved me.
