Seldon,
Jump for Joy
Some photographs age well. Some do not. But a few photographs don’t age at all. This is one of those few.
I don’t like to talk about why a photograph works. Explaining a photo is like explaining a song; you can do it, but the proper explanation for a song is the desire to dance or sing along. The proper explanation of a photograph is the feeling you get when you look at it. Then look at it again. And again.
What I get from this photo is joy expressed through visual tension. Yes, tension. The main elements of the photo seem to be moving in opposite directions — the kites one way, the boy another. The frame is also cut in half by the blue sky and the tan sand. The eye is pulled in every direction. And yet despite all that visual contradiction, the overall mood of the image is one of joy. Delight. Playfulness.
It’s like a photograph by Joel Meyerowitz had a baby with a photo by Martin Parr.
Now click through and look at the date. This photograph was shot a decade ago. Ten years. And it’s still fresh.
Blog photograph copyrighted to the photographer and used with permission by utata.org. All photographs used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and are obtained via the flickr API. Text is copyrighted to the author, greg fallis and is used with permission by utata.org. Please see Show and Share Your Work
