'Sending Grandson to the Beach for the Summer'

Under mom's watchful eye, grandfather touches his grandson's head to bid

him goodbye at the start of summer as the grandson embarks for a summer

vacation at the seaside (Black Sea) in Ukraine. Your ratings, critiques and

observations are invited and most welcome. If you rate harshly, critically, or

with to make a remark, please submit a helpful and constructive comment;

please share your photographic knowledge to help improve my photography.

Thanks! Enjoy! john

Try analyzing this as a 'continuation of arms', see how complex it looks then, and see if the figures don't somehow 'hook together' or otherwise seem more interrelated and the whole composition seem more 'together' than just a simple photo of a hand on the head.

To me this is a far more complex photo than first appears; can you articulate why?

john

John (Crosley)

Your analysis is a good kick start.What one might see in this triangle is a search for affection.While the grandfather is affectionately looking directly at his grandson and linking/bonding with him with the soft pat on the head,the young one is looking over with a pleading eye at his mom for the same type of demonstration.Failing this contact,he is holding on very firmly to his rag friend while the mother,oblivious to his pleading is looking with some degree of impatience,maybe disapproval at the grandpa as indicated by the hand on the hip stance and one can almost hear"ok,that's enough" in awaiting impatiently for that train to go.......Just a feeling on this excellent image.

Meilleures salutations-Laurent

Excellent reading of this scene.  And isn't that the way that young people are introduced to relatives and to the world and their horizons broadened?

After all, he's going to the seaside for the summer to broaden his scope and horizons and why not have to deal with a departure from an affectionate grandpa.

An aside, it's little known among most Westerners, but Ukrainian and Russian fathers, mothers and grandparents too are worthy of renown for the affection they show offspring and grandchildren, and sometimes for the misbehavior they allow with many reasoning as some have told me 'life is tough enough when the kid turns adult, they should be spoiled when they are young.'

I don't agree with that philosophy and practice, for youthful independence is precisely what I think allows for success in a grownup world, not excessive coddling, but in all cases mom and/or dad should always be ready with a loving hand (or even a loving grandparent). So long as that's there in the end, no matter what the situation (or even failure), then life's complete, no matter how difficult or impossible or even failed the task.  

This young man (the boy) I saw was exceptionally well taken care of in my judgment, based on what I saw there and documented that day.

Thanks for the excellent commentary.

john

John (Crosley)

This is interesting moment, when there is a few minutes before the train's departure. But such little kids are not sent to the seaside without parents. I think the boy is leaving his grandmother and grandfather, and one of his parents is next to him in the train. Maybe the boy did not want to leave his grandmother and therefore looks at her.

CC-Svetlana.I think Svetlana's take on this is much better than mine,especially my last line.

Meilleures salutations-Laurent

You both have good instincts but no departure timetable.

This photo was taken 15 or 20 minutes before departure.

The woman, foreground, hands on hips, is mom.  She accompanied child, but was at this moment outside the coach saying goodbye to poppa and the rest of the well wishers.

Later she went onto the coach, and people said goodbye to her too.

She is depicted in an earlier black and white photo from the train window with the  boy looking out wistfully.     (no link).

I hope that clears it up.

Thank you so much for finding my photo so interesting it caused you both to care.

john

John (Crosley)

The continuity of this photo can be traced through three individuals, from momma, through grandpa, to child, through the continuity of their arms and elbows.

Mom, foreground, has hand on him and a crooked elbow.  That appears to join with grandpa's straight arm. That in turn touches child's forehead which is connected with child's nearby arm which is similarly crooked at the elbow as momma.

If one were to draw an imaginary line from momma's left hand through the boy's right arm, one could easily do that, and connect the three figures that way, and in that way, to me, the lines of the arms holds this composition together.

In that somewhat disjointed and unconnected way, visually the figures seem to me to be connected, which to me adds interest to the composition.

Capiche?

john

John (Crosley)