Month: February 2017

 

 

Summers  filled with long hot days chasing balloons or drawing pictures on the sidewalk with chalk. Or at least they are for some. These pictures show the childhood we know, with a twist. Chasing balloons is  a composite of my granddaughter playing in my backyard, and a picture I took while walking around Detroit. The bright pink balloons caught my attention, looking so out of place against the graffitied side of a building, trapped on the rusted stair. I thought of the child who may have lost those balloons, and whose backyard was a trash strewn alley.

The other picture is of a dear friend’s son, who spent many, many days playing and drawing in my backyard. And while chalk drawings on the sidewalk are a common thing in the suburbs, they would be much more out of place in the Detroit area where the background for this composite was taken. Spray painted graffiti may be it’s own form of art, but at what cost to a child’s innocence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day old.” – J.M.Barrie –

 

 

 

It’s not often that one gets to photograph an actual Viking ship, so when the Draken Harald Hårfagre stopped in Detroit, I grabbed my camera and headed down to the Detroit Yacht Club. The weather forecaster was promising a summer storm, so I thought I would be able to get a few good shots. So did a lot of other people. And I do mean a LOT. We were herded through the ship in large groups, and hurried along so that the next large group could have their few minutes. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing site to see. But i knew right away that any pictures I took, would have to be snapped pretty quickly. And with that many people on board that small a vessel, I wasn’t going to get the shot I wanted.

 

 

 

I did manage to get a few shots worth playing around with, and with  a minimum of editing, they turned into something that I like. Here is the before shot for the one on the left. A bit too sunny for the dramatic Viking ship being tossed on the stormy seas. And while I don’t know if the  guy on the left was a genuine heroic Norseman, his outfit didn’t match the setting. So he had to go, as did a bit of modern day equipment that may be useful, or even necessary for a safe ocean voyage. But I enjoyed the day, and turning an average shot into something a little more creative.

And really, that is what it is all about.