Friday, June 15, 2012

Reflections



Last week I took my youngest grandson, Owen, for a walk to a lake near his home. Here he spent a considerable amount of time indulging in the traditional Tiller Extension sport of "throwing rocks in the ocean." His two elder siblings loved to do exactly the same thing when they were his age (almost two.)

Following the advice from Baydog (always carry your iPhone with you even in the toilet) I snapped this shot of the "throwing rocks in the ocean" action.

This is what I do when I'm not sailing. Or blogging about not sailing.

Tomorrow I hope to be sailing on another lake in Massachusetts, not very far from this one.

Then I can blog about sailing.

I love Massachusetts.


13 comments:

Sam Chapin said...

Good picture with the kid off to the side a little and some stuff around the edge and good pattern in water.

When Tillerman gets a little older he will be looking for the flat rocks to skip and then how many skips?

Center of Effort said...

I like seeing the reflections of sky and clouds in the pond.

Tillerman said...

Owen's father already looks for the flat rocks to skip and then how many skips? Does that mean he is older than me? Is that biologically possible?

Tillerman said...

I like seeing Owen's lefty fastball delivery. Can the Red Sox wait long enough until he is ready for the big leagues?

Baydog said...

Why the stinkin' Red Sox, Tillerman? So you can root against him?

Baydog said...

I'd rather see him play for the Patriots. Wait.............naaaaaah.

O Docker said...

It's still photo tips month, right?

I like this for lots of reasons - and we should ask ourselves why a photo we like 'works'.

It's an almost classic composition. Both the subject and the horizon have been moved from centered to that classic 'one third' of the way across position. There are 'foreground', 'midground', and distant planes of interest that create depth. I like the sweeping curve the grass makes as it meets the lake and the arc is continued in the leaves of the tree.

I like that the subject is 'against the light' - backlit and mostly silhouetted, but the arms are rimlit, which draws the eye to them.

And, in a subtle way, it's a great moment. Owen isn't posing for grandad, he's being a two-year-old - caught in one of those magic moments of discovery. How many adults would be so unselfconcious to throw up their arms at the sight of a lake?

Good job!

Tillerman said...

Thanks O Docker. Coming from you that means a lot.

But if we are using this for photo technique feedback, are there any things that could be improved about it?

Tillerman said...

We're in Red Sox Nation here Toto.

Bursledon Blogger said...

Hi our son has the same action! Wet feet are another joy at this age. Or today trailing his whole arm in the water as daddy rowed us up the river home after tea and cake at our regular cafe.
Mrs Bursledon Blogger

Tillerman said...

Interesting to compare this picture with the one on this post Ocean Grandad. The toddler in the other picture is Owen's sister Emily, at roughly the same age, maybe a couple of months younger.

The older picture doesn't have all the same photographic composition elements that O Docker discusses above, but from a family perspective it still captures (for me at least) the joy of looking out at water with a grandchild. Something special about moments like this.

Sam Chapin said...

One of the other composition rules is just ignore the rules and make or take the picture. Some of the best are all wrong.

Tillerman said...

That's a great point Sam.

I have to confess that in cropping this picture I consciously followed the "rules" - frame the picture with that tree, position horizon and child on the thirds. Hey, I'm a novice and I have to get the basics right before I experiment "breaking" the rules.

The way the light lit up his arm and that curve of the edge of the lake were serendipity. Or may be I subconsciously picked this shot of the 8-10 I took that day because those features just felt good to me?

Post a Comment