I've got two or three photographs that, whenever I see them, generate in me overwhelming feelings of happiness all out of proportion to any artistic value they may have. This is the first one of those that comes to mind. Gillian, sitting in her somewhat worn highchair with half a cup of cow juice (milk), wearing a friendship bracelet her brother, David, made for her and a smile that lights up her entire face. I wonder for a moment what she's thinking, but it's immediately clear. She's thinking, "We're having the
best time!" (Arlington, 1989)
I consider this one of my best portraits ever. It's my friend, Pat, and I took it on the deck in his backyard in April 2002. First of all, the lighting made the photograph perfect for my
sketchification process. And the elimination of the background in this process allowed for the focus to remain squarely on the subject. Don't get me wrong. Pat's back yard is a marvelous place; green and lush. . . flowers and trees. . . But curiously, all detail in my recollections of his yard have faded - the extravagant beauty of his dogwoods, you see, simply wipe everything else out. Alright! I have this
thing for dogwoods.
I think this was taken in 2000 or 2001 at Mother's house in Grand Prairie. I had already taken several pictures of the kids and was trailing Lauren into the kitchen. As she was passing Dad's globe I got her to stop and pose for me. I guess she thought posing with the globe was a good idea - she readily agreed. But, of course, Lauren has always been ready to have her picture taken. She'll be down here next weekend for our Labor Day celebration - a big holiday for us retired folk - and I suspect she'll still be pleased to pause in her endeavors for a moment whenever I grab my cameras.
I've got two or three photographs that, whenever I see them, generate in me overwhelming feelings of happiness all out of proportion to any artistic value they may have. This is the first one of those that comes to mind. Gillian, sitting in her somewhat worn highchair with half a cup of cow juice (milk), wearing a friendship bracelet her brother, David, made for her and a smile that lights up her entire face. I wonder for a moment what she's thinking, but it's immediately clear. She's thinking, "We're having the best time!" (Arlington, 1989)
I consider this one of my best portraits ever. It's my friend, Pat, and I took it on the deck in his backyard in April 2002. First of all, the lighting made the photograph perfect for my sketchification process. And the elimination of the background in this process allowed for the focus to remain squarely on the subject. Don't get me wrong. Pat's back yard is a marvelous place; green and lush. . . flowers and trees. . . But curiously, all detail in my recollections of his yard have faded - the extravagant beauty of his dogwoods, you see, simply wipe everything else out. Alright! I have this thing for dogwoods.
I think this was taken in 2000 or 2001 at Mother's house in Grand Prairie. I had already taken several pictures of the kids and was trailing Lauren into the kitchen. As she was passing Dad's globe I got her to stop and pose for me. I guess she thought posing with the globe was a good idea - she readily agreed. But, of course, Lauren has always been ready to have her picture taken. She'll be down here next weekend for our Labor Day celebration - a big holiday for us retired folk - and I suspect she'll still be pleased to pause in her endeavors for a moment whenever I grab my cameras.
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