The Cliff

A different version. Critique welcome, thank you.

Nevertheless, seems OK to me as the other one!

 

PDE

Thanks a lot for taking the time, Pierre. This one has less sepia in it. I'm a bit bothered by the texture and color of the sky in the other one.

While on the surface there seems to be a carefree and happy atmosphere, I find it me a certain melancholy and concern arising. Is it just because he is young and innocent and has yet to learn the harsh lessons of adulthood, or is it because he is headed toward the cliff you have suggested? I don't know. I do know that the framing is wonderful and the moment of capture was timed perfectly.

Interestingly, my thoughts while looking at this photo, are very similar to those expressed by David; if this was a piece of a movie, there would be music building up the tension and contrasting with the joy and carelessness of the kid......once again, you've proven to have a gift in coming out with pictures of many meanings. Congratulations!

Thanks a lot for your kind comments. I'm glad you like it. David, I'm all the more flattered since in this one as in the others I concentrated on framing and didn't do any cropping or heavy post-processing, just basic B&W conversion.

 

Besides, I would like you to feel reassured!. That was a moment of sheer joy and the boy was on the right side of the cliff. He had just climbed up a small hill to see the view over the cliff that overlooks the ocean and was about to run downhill back onto the path where we were having our Sunday walk with the family and friends.

Having read the discussion about spontanity in Jeff's image, I come here and I see a wonderful example of capturing life....the kind of body expression you can never really pose because the kid doesn't think about it he just walk naturally like a bird is flying...intuitively...

Laurent, thanks. Doing this series I also tried to use the light, which was wonderful. It was the end of the day around 8:30, sunny, overlooking the sea.

Well, we are really on a roll, aren't we. These last pictures have all been superb and just full of life and originality. You're always going in that directiom of humanism; I appreciate that. As the Jews would say : L'Chaim!

It's fine, but I like the other one more, just because of the color. Never the less, is excellent photo. Regards!

Jack: thanks. I can't help it. I always come back to those greats, you know, the likes of Doisneau, Bischof, Erwitt, Ronis, all of them. I wish I could've been twenty in the fifties with my old Rollei in my hands.

 

Sunny: thanks a lot for taking the time and revisiting. I appreciate.

Laurent, I like composition and tone.

Wonderful as well Laurent. timing is spote on.

 

Another possibility is a square formate in order to bring the child more to the viewer, but it will change the photo of course... just one more possibility to this beautiful one....;-))

so often you bring me to the simple joys of life, most easily seen from the perspective of childhood

I really feel like you are allowing me into something special here. Your perspective and especially the way you've handled the foreground creates a distinct intimacy, almost as if I seeing through my own eyelashes. Normally, a perspective from below like this makes the subject sort of majestic and larger than life. Here, you've done it and kept the boy appropriately small and very down to earth. His fun-loving expression and white clothes only add to the photo. The brownish toning works well and continues the earthy feel. There is pleasure here. This, to me, feels spontaneous. That is apropos to our previous discussion over at Jeff's.

 

Thanks, by the way, for your kind words on my photo of Ian. I think we've had a great discussion in the last few days and it is very worthwhile.

Amal, I'm glad you like this one, and thank you as always for your encouraging thoughts.

 

Pnina: thanks for suggesting an alternative version. I think Fred has perfectly translated my intentions into words. I wanted the kid to look smaller for three main reasons. First, as Fred put it to balance the low angle position of the shot and give the figure of the boy the proper importance in the frame, that is to say too big as Fred so aptly pointed out. Secondly because I chose that particular angle to give the viewer the impresssion that he saw the scene through his own eyes, that he could almost feel and touch the grass as though he was lying down there. That physical perception of the grass in the viewer's face was important to me. Pnina, thanks again for your always constructive comments.

 

Linda, thank you. There was wonderful light there, and I tried to capture the moment simply and straightforwardly. I didn't do anything during processing, except the conversion to B&W and contrast.

 

Fred, thank you so much for finding such exact words to translate wy own intentions. You were spot on. This is indeed a spontaneous shot. I saw my little boy on the hill about to run down after looking at the seaview on top of the clliff. The idea to get closer to the grass to get that angle occured to me on the spur of the moment.