'Celebrating the New Year'

An older girl (relatively speaking) teaches her younger sister how to hold a sparkler to

celebrate the New Year. Your ratings, critiques and observations are invited and most

welcome. If you rate harshly, very critically, or wish to make a remark, please submit a

helpful and constructive comment; please share your photographic knowledge to help

improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy! john

A charming capture John. I particularly like the light on the girls face from the sparklers. Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year.

Best Regards,

Holger

Thank you Holger.

This is an exhibit for those who  believe I only take photos of bums, the poor and the down and out.

I have a soft spot too and a place in my heart for 'charm' and for non-conventional photos of 'children'.

I was walking along, saw the girls with sparklers against the building that housed them, had two cameras around my neck, one with wide angle lens, the other with telephoto, and wanted to approach them with the wide angle, but the sparklers were getting shorter and shorter, and I also thought better and better, but the light was almost dark.

This was taken after sunset in the cloudy afterglow (if there is such a thing).

I shoot now often with a 55~300, here at 85mm with a severe crop, and captured a much larger scene and cropped it much tighter -- I also can crop even tighter, but I wanted to give critics a chance to decide whether or not to suggest a tight crop or to like this (or not).

The 55~200 on a D7000 or a D3200 with VR on acquires and holds subjects for a very long time without shake or vibration.  I'm a steady holder, but this lens's VR system really astounds me --  I even shoot with it on moving Metro trains fully extended at 1/30 sec. and get no shake!

Consider that with the shake and bouncing of Metro trains!

I'm glad this has touched you -- it touched me.

I made a request in broken Russian/Ukrainian for them to light another (so I could take another photo), and the larger girl held up the box, upended it and nothing fell out -- it was empty.  i got the only chance -- there were no more sparklers.

Notice that the girls' face you can see is quite pretty.  I spent most of my life before photographing not realizing how to judge the attractiveness of young girls/young women (except when I was a preternaturally horny young elementary school kid in love with the one 'pretty' girl in class), but since I've been photographing, I've noticed that certain young girls seem destined to grow into very attractive adults -- she's one.

In fact, though, she's a run-of-the mill Ukrainian girl.  Slavic people are very attractive - which I overlook until I spend time in the United States and not on a college campus, plus Ukrainian youths are exceedingly well groomed.  No dressing down -- they wear their best when they go out.

Very handsome people, until after marriage when the women seem to get permission and work so many hours they tend to get premature middle age spread -- they don't get it when they emigrate as brides to the United States, either, in most instances and stay beautiful, but in Ukraine, they get fat and dumpy once the snag a husband, have kids and work 6-7 days at 10-12 hours a day.  What a shame.

Things are hard in Ukraine right now.   Good people; hard life.

And very well educated.  Many US firms offshore their computer programming many times to Ukrainian programmers and get the creme de la creme of the intellectual elite and save money in the process.

I look at this young girl and her look to me speaks volumes; I can almost predict her life, as I've shown here.

Right now the Russian incursion is eating their economy with horrible inflation -- the Russians however are getting their comeuppance however, as the ruble similarly is crashing and they're losing huge money supporting the people of Crimea they annexed in contravention of international law.

So, maybe sparklers is all these girls got for this major holiday (the gift giving holiday), and these two sparklers are the last of them.

(Christmas comes in January and is not for giving gifts.)

Happy New Year, and thanks.

john

John (Crosley)

I was moved by the great care that the older girl showed her younger sister in care and handling of the sparklers - especially considering that they're somewhat dangerous, but there was no hint of any trouble.

You are right about the love shown by older daughter toward younger sister.

I'm versatile; later the same day I took a slightly off color, wickedly humorous photo which I'm debating whether to post, as it violates a self-imposed rule about where to shoot -- but I guarantee you it's both funny and smacks of the forbidden.

I like to switch it up, depending on what I see, which is why I carry two cameras usually with two zoom lenses -- there's a great range to capture the subjects I encounter.

Best to you and thanks for the kind comment.

john

John (Crosley)

John : Critique ( if you construe that as "criticism" ) is neither necessary or appropriate for an excellent image like this. I'm not sure which I like most, the image, or the sentiments you express in your note to Holger so I'll take them together and in that excellent becomes superb. Rgds. Rick

Sometimes I just write and write, wondering who will read what I write and if it's just too much.

A few have criticized my essays and thoughts, but the mail and comments run about 10 to one in favor, and to  those who object, I just say:  'Don't read' and look at the image only.

I'm stunned by the flattering 'critique' that you have posted, and I will endeavour to live up to the high esteem in which you have placed me and my work.

Thanks so much.

john

John (Crosley)