Reckless abandon
London, ON, September 2010
[Thematic explores candid this week. You can, too, by clicking here]
It was the first day of school and for some odd reason I found myself standing on the roof of our kids' school. I'd been asked to take a group picture of all the kids in the school, so I figured a high-up perspective would make the resulting shot a bit more interesting than the usual head-on pose.
This was one of those nice-in-theory, not-so-great-in-reality ideas of mine, because once I went upstairs through the smokey hallways (please, don't ask) and climbed out on an adjacent balcony before hopping the fence onto the asphalt and definitely not human-friendly rooftop, I approached the side of the building and realized just how much space now separated me from terra firma. So I tiptoed near the edge and, as I waited for the bell to ring - perfect time to shoot was when they'd be lining up to head inside - I practiced on my kids to make sure I could shoot without suffering from vertigo.
Little man made it easy, because true to form he was his usual happy-to-the-core-of-his-being self. He hadn't yet spotted me in my sniper-like perch, so I quietly snapped away as he went about the very serious business of being a munchkin. As you can see, It's hard to avoid feeling his energy, and wishing that more of it would rub off.
Your turn: What's he thinking?
Nice description of childhood behaviors and catching in such a moment. Greetings from Tucson.
ReplyDeleteHe's absolutely enjoying life! ...and running! You eased yourself into a very nice spot to capture this so precisely, real action shot (candid) and totally honest view of what this boy was experiencing!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean by the energy these little folk have. Many a time I've thought, while watching the middle school kids at lunch, "if only we could harness that energy we would have an inexhaustible, forever renewable source of unlimited energy." (whew! that was a lot of adjectives!).
ReplyDelete"Youth is wasted on the young." - George Bernard Shaw.
Ooops, sorry forgot to mention what is he thinking? He's either very excited to tell about something very cool that happened, or he's eager to play video games or some other techy thing! Too young for girls, or borrow the car...!
ReplyDeleteHe's thinking " I hope I don't have to go inside" " I hope that man on the roof keeps on taking photos of me, cuz, I am cool!".
ReplyDeleteRounding third base and on my way to the first home-run of the season.
ReplyDeleteNice candid. That perspective is not one you often see, and it works well in eliminating possible distractions from the frame.
I love the motion in this picture.
ReplyDeletethe beauty of it is he does not have to think. totally into being peter pan...
ReplyDeleteyouth is action, movement and doing...joy for joy's sake...
the thoughts that come can only kill youth, slowly painfully if we let it. right now he is enjoying...and living..there is time for that later...but not now...
jobs, committments, responsibilities are thought provoking...and restrictive...captian hook
don't get me wrong...i am peter pan...but captain hook as well...
Great shot!
ReplyDeleteHe's a boy, and therefore he's simply thinking about how fun it is to run.
He does have great energy! I hope he wasn't running in circles... that might lead to feeling a bit dizzy and not a good feeling to have on top of a roof.
ReplyDeleteI was once asked to climb up on a roof to take a photo... I looked at the person as if they were crazy... I'm afraid of heights! :D
ReplyDeleteHow true! This reminded me of the glee I felt at that age when the bell rang! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is so cute. Such serious business, play is.
ReplyDelete