One of the reasons I don’t share pictures of my kids on Weekly Fifty is because I want these pictures to be about the art and craft of photography, not a way for me to show off or draw attention to my family. Even when I do have pictures of my kids I don’t show their faces partly because I like to keep the focus on other elements of the picture, but mostly because at heart I’m still one of those paranoid Xennials who isn’t quite comfortable sharing photos of his children for the whole world to see. This one, though, I thought was worth putting up.
When I was a kid one of my favorite comics was Calvin and Hobbes. I remember reading it religiously in the newspaper each morning, laughing at the zany antics of the yellow-haired six-year-old and his tiger friend, but entirely missing the deep layers of subtext and social commentary hidden just beneath the surface of the pen-and-ink drawings and words of dialogue. Several years ago my wife’s parents bought me the Complete Calvin and Hobbes, a boxed set of every comic ever written as well as several pages of introductory text from the author Bill Watterson, and it has held a special place in my heart ever since. I read the set through a few times and kept it safe and sound, hoping that one day my own kids might get just as much enjoyment out of it as I did when I was young.
I don’t remember when my oldest son, who is now 8, took an interest in those comics but he took to them almost immediately, burning through all three books in a matter of about two weeks. He has re-read them several times over the years, and most nights he lugs one of the books up to his top bunk and ends his day chuckling at the situations Calvin and his tiger find themselves in while his little brother slips off to sleep below. Like most siblings, the younger one often follows in the footsteps of the older, and even though he can’t read he loves looking through the books nonetheless and gleaning bits of story from the exaggerated images on the pages. That’s what I found him doing on this morning when I wondered why he wasn’t up yet before I left for work. I quietly peered through his bedroom door only to find that he was he was awake, just reading Calvin and Hobbes quietly to himself in his bedroom.
Knowing that these moments can pass so quickly and with little warning, I ran as fast and as quietly as I could do get my Nikon D750 and affix the 85mm f/1.8 lens so I could get a picture of my youngest son lost in his own little world of adventure, excitement, and animal-assisted interplanetary exploration. The light was so dim I knew I would need all of it that I could get, so I shot at f/1.8, ISO 6400, and even then I settled for a 1/20 second shutter speed. The only reason it worked was because I was able to rest my camera on the door frame, otherwise the end result would have been too blurry from camera shake.
As soon as I shot this picture the moment was lost, since he heard my camera shutter and immediately turned around to see what was happening. (Something that wouldn’t have happened if I shot with a mirrorless camera like the Sony a9, but that’s an issue for other websites to explore.) He looked up with a huge grin on his face, and went back to reading. I went back to breakfast, also with a big smile, thinking that it was going to be a good day. And it was.
John G Hancock says
Very nice pic. I like your use of lighting and how it focuses on what your son is doing. I can understand not wanting to splash a child’s face all over the internet. These days there are lots of people out there who are not exactly ‘balanced’ on the matter of children, i.e. perverts. When I worked on the photography staff (there were two of us) at our local daily, the editors wanted what they called ‘weather art’ to go below the fold on the front page, Sunday addition. Mostly pics of people doing interesting things outdoors in all kinds of weather. I shot lots of pics of kids playing in parks, on playground equipment, or in swimming pools. I left the paper in January of 1995 and back then there wasn’t much of an issue photographing children at play. My, how things have changed! If I had young children, I would be very uneasy about a total stranger lurking around and taking pictures, and, not in a bad way, you had to lurk to get a good pic of a child playing.
Once again, I think the pic is great. It is nice to have a camera at hand to capture those great moments.
Simon says
You’re exactly right, John! And one issue my wife and I think about when sharing pics of our kids online is whether or not they would want us to share those pics. They might not have an opinion now, but what if in ten years our kids resent us for plastering their faces all over our own social media and public websites? That might not happen, but I’d rather let my kids be the ones to decide which photos of them they want online than us. And once a photo is out there, it’s almost impossible to take back!
Pauline says
You captured a wonderful moment perfectly. I love these kinds of shots.
Simon says
Thank you so much, Pauline! I’m glad you like it :)
Rebecca Burlingham says
These are the photos I love. This is why I value my camera. Without your technical skills, this photo would not be anywhere near this good. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and inspiration.
Simon says
Thank you Rebecca! Camera skills are like having a garage full of tools. You might not use them every day, but they sure do come in handy when you need them!
Tom J Frye says
Hmm, a kid who would rather read Calvin and Hobbs instead of playing with his cement-mixing truck? Does this mean he will grow up to be a chip off the old block and not a typical blue-collar worker?
Simon says
Oh believe me, that dump truck gets plenty of use. Or perhaps abuse is a better word, given how hard they are on their toys! :)
Linda Allen says
This is a beautiful photo! It is so nice to see children in quiet moments, especially in this fast-paced world. You were really fortunate to capture that moment on your camera and can forever look at the photo with a smile on your face. :-)
Thanks again for sharing!
Simon says
Thank you Linda! You’re right about the pace of things. A few minutes after I shot this it was back to the usual morning tornado :)
Jill McKechnie says
What a precious moment! You will treasure it forever :)
Simon says
Thank you Jill! I think this will definitely be one of those photos I keep coming back years from now…
Carolana says
I absolutely love this photo for so many reasons. It makes me happy to see a youngster with a book rather than an electronic book or tablet. Better yet, Calvin and Hobbes has always been my favorite. I even had a pair of cats named Calvin and Hobbes and their antics were memorable! Well done, sir!!
Simon says
Thank you Carolana! Our kids have a pretty low-tech existence, but they seem pretty happy and well-adjusted so far. No iPads, iPods, iPhones, or screens of any kind. Except for one thing…they each have an old Canon PowerShot digital pocket camera :) They’ve got their whole lives to be wrapped up in electronics, so might as well encourage them to enjoy an analog childhood as much as we can…