This was originally posted as “Why I Love This Photograph - Part 1″ on January 27, 2009. It seems appropriate to share on Mother’s Day.
A few tidbits about me to set the stage. I am an only child who was raised by older parents, i.e. they were in their 30s when I was born. This trend is becoming more common today, but when I was a kid, my parents were generally 10+ years older than my friends’ parents. This March, my dad will be 75 years old [ he just turned 76 ], a fact that boggles my mind, but then again, he was 38 years old when I was born so the math adds up.
Because of the larger gaps between generations, all of my grandparents have passed away with the most recent death being over 18 years ago [ now 19 ]. I am not necessarily envious of people whose grandparents are still alive, but more so I have learned to appreciate the time we did have and treasure even more that which I have inherited, especially the photographs.
What I continually find interesting is that of this collection there are some photographs that I know by heart. I have seen them so many times in my life or because multiple family members have copies too so that I just know them. Then, like magic, I’ll open another album and I’ll find another photograph that I’ve never seen before. In most cases, I can guess at who the photographer is/was, but other times, I have no idea. This photograph of my mother is one such example where I don’t know the photographer, but I sure wish I knew. [ I’ve narrowed it down to my father or my uncle Bud. ]
The image intrigues me for so many reasons.
- What is she looking at?
- What is she thinking about?
- Who saw this moment and why did they click the shutter?
- Why is she dressed up?
- Which event was she going to?
Plus, I just love her heels.
This image makes me want to be a better photographer. My goal is always to try and capture this type of thought provoking image, but I think that it is very difficult to do so. You can tell someone to look wistfully out of a window, but knowing the exact moment - “the decisive moment” - of when you’ll get the best photograph takes skill, practice, and patience.
In this series of posts I hope to show you my thought process of why I made a particular photograph, but also highlight photographs that inspire me. There are so many great photographers out there who create incredible images. I hope they inspire you too.
FYI - This image, now framed, sits on my desk so I can view it everyday.
