Down and Dirty with Dad

Being that this is Fathers Day weekend, I want to shout out a cheer and give a nod of respect and thanks to dads everywhere.

This past Thursday evening we attended an outdoor concert featuring a group called American English, a Beatles tribute band.  Do I love Beatles music?  Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!  However, I was pleasantly distracted during the concert by a young family sitting on the blanket in front of us.  

The family consisted of a mom, a infant girl, a dad, and an energetic, inquistitive 4 year old boy.  As the band sang the words "there are places I remember...",  I watched the boy discover a small mound of fresh black dirt and proceed to stomp on it, sit in it, and create freshly patted gourmet dirt cookies with his tiny hands.  He then presented this freshly created treat to his mom and dad on the family blanket.  Dad showed interest and appreciation for this gift, and later as the boy discovered the first lightning bugs of the season, Dad came off the blanket bringing a magnifying glass so he could share with his son a closer look.  I thought about how this dad embraced his son's interests and came prepared with a magnifying glass to build their relationship by exploring those interests with him.  

What an advantage children have when they are fortunate enough to have had a loving father during their childhood years!   When we get feeling all smug and proud of who we have become and made of our lives, that might be the time to take a step back and remember dear old dad. Remember the influence he had on the people we are becoming and his role in sharing values, ideas, and dad jokes.  We didn't get any choice or input into the person who was to become our dad, but we certainly changed his life and person. If you are one of the lucky ones, you got a dad who was confident enough to be playful and silly, who spoke in and displayed crazy "dadisms" that we will always remember. However, most importantly we got a dad who valued a personal relationship with us and expressed his love in various ways to show that we were important to him and that he was your dad and you were unabashedly his child.

I describe myself as and opportunistic photographer, and this week's photos were what my caught my eye as the evening's light grew dim.  The low light gave me the thought of trying to drag the shutter to create a portrait of this child's boundless energy and curiosity.  I was pleased with the result (1/6th sec. @ f5.6) and like to think that someday when the physical details of this moment are forgotten, the image will become a favorite memory of a future dirty father.  

 Harassment in Nature

I'm running a bit behind schedule this week due to many factors such as rainy weather, an enlarged social calendar and weather delayed mandatory outdoor chores.  All of these things add up to very little time to be out making photos.  For some reason, I am better motivated to write my blog if I have a recent photo or a recent photographic experience to discuss.

      

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I finally got out with the camera Tuesday evening and chose to visit Nygren Wetlands, not far from where I live.  I am always rejuvenated by this place even when I don't see anything to photograph.  Last night didn't start with any instant inspiration as the only critters were a pair of sand hill cranes, one mallard, a host of redwings darting from reed to reed and a full chorus of songbirds hidden away within the dense tree canopy.  As I stared at the good light being wasted for lack of a subject, I embraced the calm ambience of the early evening.  Suddenly, the redwings became incensed at the crane's intrusion into their sacred place.  Then the evening got much more entertaining for me and a bit less tranquil for the cranes.

For some reason our minds tend to romanticize nature existing in perfect harmony. Perhaps this is from watching Bambi, Thumper or others in the Disney family.  Maybe we like to believe that harmony exists in nature because it seems so infrequent within our daily lives.  However, harmony in nature is not the rule as this week's photo clearly shows. Just like us, the critters have their squabbles with those outside their group.  The only difference is that grudges seem not to be part of their composition, unlike us.

The challenge in taking this series of photos was the anticipation of the rapid and spontaneous attacks while holding focus.  I also learned that it is best to overshoot such sequences to enable easier screening in post.  In this instance, I screened out shots where the red epaulettes on the blackbirds didn't display well enough to help them stand out from the background.  Of course, capturing an angry response from the sandhill was equally important.  I hate to admit it, but it is entertaining to watch a good squabble that doesn't end in gunfire!

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Here's Looking at 

You Kid!

My blog photo for this week is one that was taken by my daughter on on her cell phone.  Now, I could rightfully claim that this photo is great simply because it features my grandson.  Nothing more needs to be said.  When I first saw it, I strongly connected with it not just because its my grandson but because it is 100% genuine kid.

This photo is what child portraits should look like instead of those cheezy, posed, show your teeth images that fail to reflect a kid's true spirit.  Images like this are captured during those "in between" moments and when a child is so engrossed in their world that they have forgotten that the camera is present.  Tousled hair, a smudged face or a belly laugh or  mischievious smirk are all elements on display in genuine kid photography.  Contemplative moments, wonder and surprise  along with tears and disappointment all have a place as well.  My comments are not intended to deride family photos and those special occasion photos that call for being shined up and slicked down in order to document family history and traditions.  My preference would be for a greater balance between formal posed photography and less formal child portraiture.  With the availablity of cell phones, I think this transition is taking place. 

After my daughter shared the photo, I converted it to a black and white print using older NIK software simulating vintage Illford Delta100 film.  I also recropped the photo and tweaked the tones.  The black and white seemed to make the image less personal for me and more representative of those many children I encountered over many years.

My working years as an elementary school principal provided with me with volumes of mental snapshots of children and the adults who were part of their lives.  This week's photo is a representation of the many young faces which graced the bench outside my office while waiting to see the principal.  There remains a warm place in my heart for those kids who were sent to my office.  My visits with them helped remind me of how a kid sees the world and how we all never grow too old for an attitude adjustment along with a second chance.