Throwback Thursday #2

9th November 2017

The Innocence of Youth

For my first Throwback Thursday I have chosen a photograph of Rhowan and Harmony, taken seven years ago. Reading back through the comments left at the time, I see that the reason I like it now are the same as were given by most of the people that commented at the time. Mainly, watching a sleeping child gives you time to relax and reflect, which is a rare and precious time for busy parents!

[This image was first published on chromasia on July 3rd, 2010]

There were lots of ways Dave could have processed this; black and white first came to my mind, but the soft focus and hi-key processing he used suit the innocent subject, as does the soft, muted colour palette. Although the original photo is cute (see right) – the redder colours are harsh, and don’t compliment the calm subject.

Traditionally, portraits of children are romantic, often nostalgic, and the processing is a gentle nod to this tradition.

I couldn’t resist having a quick play with the original image. I processed mine in Lightroom, from a jpeg of the original file, after doing a few jobs around the house to distance me from Dave’s finished image.

I just had to try a B&W (maybe, in part, to the influence of the two photographers mentioned below) and I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

More challenging was to try a colour version. I wanted the image to have a timeless or vintage feel.

I was surprised just how different the two final colour images were. Mine is much warmer – which I am noticing is a trait in my children photographs. Maybe it’s more reminiscent of long summer days, or of early colour film? Either way, it’s a good reminder of how the ‘creative eye’ of different photographers can lead to very different final results.

Finally, this photograph reminds me of a couple photographs taken by two of my favourite ‘great’ photographers – which is always a good thing in my book!

Obviously, both Cameron and Mann used gorgeous large format film cameras (that I haven’t had the pleasure of using for a few years) and Dave’s image was taken with a compact digital camera, BUT this just adds to my argument that creativity and artistic intent are far more important than gear!

As always, we want to hear what you think. and if you have any images you want to see in a future Throwback Thursday please let us know in the comments below.

Share182

Share4

Comments

Carlos Garcia says

9th November 2017 at 7:29 pm

I remember this image. I prefer the “warm”, vintage look. The image captures so much… innocence, sisterhood, peace…almost another place where we all have been and perhaps long to return. As for future images…you know me… the shore. 🙂 This is fun!

- David J. Nightingale says
  
  9th November 2017 at 7:40 pm
  
  I have a shot of the shoreline in mind for next week, but haven’t quite decided yet. Watch this space 🙂
  
  - Carlos Garcia says
    
    9th November 2017 at 7:58 pm
    
    Will do!