a study on vision, part three

 

Part one is here, part two is here.

And now we dive into pictures that I have actually taken. Thus far I’ve been focusing on what I like about other people’s images, but now I’m going to look at my own, starting with candid pictures of everyday life (of which I take many).

favorite candids (mine)

1. Dad

I must have taken this at least four or five years ago, but when I was combing my memory for my favorite candid pictures it was the first to pop into my head. This picture evokes exactly the image I see in my mind when I think of my dad: irrigation boots, a hickory shirt, and suspenders, hard at work every hour of daylight and some beyond. And yet at the same time I love this because it’s a rare instant, an unusual sight when working with my dad; he works quickly, efficiently, and nonstop, so this moment of rest and reflection was particularly special. I like the way I took it at a tight crop with my 200mm lens to make it feel more remote and undisturbed.

2. Damascus Gate, Jerusalem

This is by far my favorite picture from the day I spent doing street photography in the Old City. There are some flaws and technical errors I would change if it had been anything but a fast-moving candid shot, but for the few seconds in which these Israeli Defense Force soldiers were moving through the Moslem Quarter I am very happy with it. It brings back my favorite memories from Israel in my favorite place—the ever-bustling Old City—and the total diversity of characters I saw there. It was a tangle of mixed languages, from German to English to Arabic to Hebrew, as well as a tangle of backgrounds, creeds, lifestyles, and purposes. Some were tourists, some were Muslim shopkeepers, some were orthodox Jews... And in the midst of it, soldiers. A lot of soldiers.

3. West Kensington, Philadelphia

I spent only a  few hours in this very rough neighborhood of Philadelphia, but I managed to grab one of my very favorite candid pictures while I was there. The way the people live in West Kensington blew me away… I can’t imagine living in such small and close quarters, and in such hot and miserable summers (I was there in the dead of July). But in the afternoon every other small street or so was blocked off, and they opened up the hydrants a little bit and let the children play in the water. Unlike the other candids I’ve posted so far, I chose a wide angle for this one, and I like it that way—I like to have the sense of place.

4. Fishing

Dad stars twice today! I took this picture of him and my little sister last spring when I was home for a visit, and I think I love it mostly because it’s like a brief step back in time to when I was little and used to go fishing in the creek with Dad… trudging through knee-high pasture grass and stopping to quietly cast into various holes along the way and sometimes seeing beavers, herons, or swarms of ticks. :)

5. Hannah and Larissa in Melbourne, Florida

I just love this picture. I can’t look at it without smiling. We were at a beach in Melbourne at the very beginning of GCBI—just getting to know each other. If I remember correctly, Larissa, a former cheerleader, was trying to teach Hannah to do a cartwheel, and the results were rather hilarious. (Maybe I think they’re even more hilarious now that I teach cartwheels for a living.) Their laughing faces are so priceless, and somehow I see a hint of vintage in the whole image—maybe it’s their swimsuits or just the fun feel, I don’t know. But I love it.

 

So which one’s your favorite?