eddy ...like in the river Saying good-by

I learned quite a bit from looking at your picture and reading the comments. I have several pets including a huge dog, so at first glance, I saw an image of a woman hugging a likable dog. A nice image I can relate emotionally to but I dear say that the image as such leaves a little bit to be desired as commented on by others.
Second, when I noticed the title of your image my perception of the image changed dramatically and gave it a very different emotional content. Furthermore, given the circumstances when it was taken I also became much more willing to accept the image as it is. I have never cared much about titles, however your image really showed my how important a title can be both with respect to interpreting the image and its technical merits.
Finally, I have never really thought much about how important the viewers different personal background will be in interpreting an image. However, the comments to your image clarly show that the image speaks very differently to people who have had the sad experience of puting a loving companion to its final rest and those that have not. For some it is just a clinical issue, while for me, you and several others it is a most profound experience eminently captured by your image and its title.

Juan this touched me when you posted the shot ....whenever it was. It is beautiful and deep and emotional and professional. So deserving of POW. Congratulations!
~j

Looking at your portfolio, I see that you two are the couple! That's realy beautiful to grow old with someone. I never saw in a real life that kind of love and inspiration in an old couple.
I hope I'm right, Juan.

This photo is so hard for me to view. It is so emotional and touching in a most basic way. I couldn't comment until now and I will freely admit that this makes me cry. Sure there are a few things about it that might be improved. The vertical line is a little distracting. I personally find that this is one those photos where things like that become unimportant. The raw power of emotion contained here override everything else. This is photography in it's most important aspect IMO. Capturing the bittersweet taste of life and connecting us to our past so we can continue to feel on that deepest level. I saw this and immediately missed my old kitty who went to sleep 5 years ago. He lived with me for 22 of his 23 years. With love comes loss and this photo sums it all up. I personally like the contrast. It adds to the mood.

Regards, Katherine

My personal memories parallel this photo's story and some of the comments about sharing our lives with animals and losing them, but without knowing its title or any details I was drawn to this image as soon as I saw the thumbnail image.
In my initial scan of the main page it took a couple of seconds for my mind to sort out that the subjects were live and not a sculpture. The monochromatic tone, how the subjects bridge across the frame and extend outside it, delicate light tones, detail, and emotion are great enough to satisfy me without the story. Though, if it had not been shared I know I would wonder. A most evocative and beautiful image.
Thanks for posting it.

A very touching, emotional image Juan. Pure feeling between Eddy and Sadie is something that can't be staged or reproduced, it just happens and you photographed it well. I don't think the light from the door detracts anything from the photo. It's not something I even noticed until I read comments. Sometimes a flaw or percieved flaw just makes it more real and personal, like something handmade as opposed to something manufactured. Congratulations on the POW. See you in Glacier someday. Fred

Juan;
 
So nice to drop by and discover you to be the latest member of the P.Nut gallery, congrats. I've enjoyed seeing some of my favourite photographers at PN receive well deserved accolades recently.

That you bring your considerable skill as a photographer to bare on so many of life's touching moments is a testament to your commitment as an artist to convey images filled with the  truths of your to day to day life. You offer us a touching, sometimes warm, sometimes bittersweet, always honest,  window into your own life, and in so doing, you touch upon much of what  is universal.  I'm not sure I could  have pulled myself together sufficiently to take a photo at such a time, let alone such a masterful photo.
 
 Having shared my life with canine pals since childhood, I have been at this crossroad too often.You have captured the soul of these sweet sorrows. Eddy with her eyes shut, her and Sadie pressing their foreheads together as they commune their good-byes is such a universal gesture, it cuts through language and species barriers and gets right to the core of the matter. My heart to hearts are often conducted in the exact same posture, so this brings a flood of memories some sweet, some sad. I'm gonna shut up now before this flood of memories swamps my comment completely.
 
I'm glad this was shot with film, the grain works beautifully here. The image seems a tiny bit soft in focus, which plays perfectly into the soft window light and the  smooth grain to give an overall gentle feel.
 
As for the poles in the background I think they are fine, burned in as they are. I do not think I would want to see a pure black background. I like that there is some slight sense of place to the image. A uniform background would look somehow staged. It is  the  sincerity  of the scene  which infuses the photo  with such powerful emotion.

A very honest capture of an expression I've witnessed over and over again in my professional life during the past 40 years.
As for the photo itself, I think choosing not to use color was all important, as color would distract the viewer from experiencing the actual intensity of the emotion that is the subject of the photo in the first place.

I think the photograph can be appreciated as friendship, or as consolement, or as tenderness. But as is, it only speaks to goodbye, which is what I was trying to say with my previous comment.

Rarely can one look at a photo and say this is a powerful image. There is so much emotion and the light and composition only add to the feeling.

It's about time that the elves recognized this image! Congrats to both of you and sweet Sadie's spirit.

The title certainly adds to the photo but the photo standing alone is powerful. Great work. Thanks. Dee

Sad to say...as often as I have been to your portfolio I had not noticed this picture. It just tells me how insensitive I am to things unless they are big and in front of my face. This is one special photo. It deserves to be POW. Cheers, J

I rather feel this is spoiled by the caption, which, apart from making the
picture very morbid, denies the viewer the oportunity to explore their own
emotional reaction to the image.

Take the caption away and the image represents a true kaleidoscope of emotional
states, all of which are in flux.

The overwhelming sensation is that of the hard hands on the soft downy fur; a
bitter-sweet collage where warmth and ethereal cold meet amidst a sea of
uncertainty. Perhaps the dog has been missing a week, and when all hope was
abandoned the animal has returned, wincing in pain and limping on three legs,
the fourth a useless broken limb that is a painful burden just to hold out of
the way. For all the joy of being re-united with a loved pet, there is the
overbearing torrent of pain in the knowledge that the animal needs to be put
down at the earliest possible opportunity for its own good. And in this moment
of imminent doom, the animal is as placid and unknowing as the day it was born,
all problems both forgotten and in any case not understood, but the dog has
clearly come to the moment knowing that the love of its owner will be its last
salvation.

Technically the photograph is superb: the mix of hard and soft texture, hard and
soft light, and hard and soft detail gives the image a sublime landscape over
which to wander; the focus completely central gives the image a definite impact
from which all else flows.

And ultimately the viewer will ascribe to the image the exact sentiments which
the caption so rudely espouses, but at least by ignoring the caption the viewer
can enter into and explore the emotional intensity of the scene.

So much talking about emotion here. .. But I don’t know what of the emotion talking about here related to a photograph. There are many emotion things happened in our day life, can you just take a photograph of these emotion things and call this photograph good? Please don’t forget viewers - that is a most important thing a photographer should remember …

^ Pray for the hearts of stone. What exactly is the most important thing that I, a photographer, should remember, grasshopper? Jaun has captured a moment in his life that stings his heart. He captured that precise essence at the correct emotive moment. He had the 3 most important aspects of photography just about covered. He 1. Identified the subject 2. Emphasized the subject and 3. Simplified the subject and still captured the moment.
This is real life photography of the human condition in America, in Montana and in Juan's home. This was not a studio moment, get the portait lens, dim the Wescotts, check the DOF..........This was CAPTURE the moment, the last good bye of a loved companion, forever. Well done Juan. Many of us love our animals in America, we don't think of them as food as in some cultures.

That is a reason why in America to separate God from Government, but please don’t think a politician in America don’t believe God. Pray just let pray if that is only way to make you feel better...

Dearest Juan, Congratulations!!! You well deserved the POV. This is a beautiful photo with just the right atmosphere and emotion. Perfect tones and contrasts. Fabulous! I love it

Juan,

For those of us who love our "animals" as family and have had to go down this terribly, sad journey, your photo says it all. Just looking at this brings tears to my eyes, as I have two elderly "babies" now who may not be far from here. Black and white only adds to the incredible feeling of the moment because in real life, this is a black and white moment. I hope in sharing with us, you realize that even tho this is personally profound, you have touched us all. God bless......I'm sure those biscuits in heaven taste really good.

regards, jnewhall

Damn, Juan! Did you have to win POW with such a sad photograph. My condolences - I've known this feeling before. Of course, the lives represented in the photo carry all of it's value. You always do a magnificent job of telling the story. Very meaningful since you so often pour your life into your photographs. Thanks for letting your camera share so much of these moments.
Regards to all, ~Sky

I have learned a ton from all these comments...Some things about this image work some...for others...it does not.
Always...I do my art for me...first. Always happy if others can find some enjoyment in my work...
Sometimes I'll give a title while I make it...sometimes along time after...sometimes they work and sometimes they suck. Calling this "A woman and a dog" or Untitled just would not work for me...If I effect someones imagination by posting a title...that was my intent....as the artist I feel that's my choice.
Truth is we all see through our own eyes and our own hearts...sometimes we see only what we choose to see...ok mostly...
What makes a photograph good for me is the moment I made it...the minute I print it...the opportunity to hang it..or the feelings that go with it.
Xiao...a photo that brings up emotions does not always mean that it is a good one...maybe it just means that the emotions needed to be felt again....some images do that for some people...your critiques of this image seemed to me, to be on the emotional side as well...although I am not sure why.... anyways I am thankful for your comments.
As my 15 minutes of fame fades away...I thank you you all for your opinions. .... all of them are well received...
now I look forward to visiting your portfolios.... juan