What is a good way to tell a story than through a picture? With the help of a balanced exposure, depth of field and perfect timing, a photo can unfold into a story. But at this time I feel a need to tell the story behind this photo.
It started when my dear friend contacted me and requested that I change the background of a photo. I'm known for my passion for manipulating images in Photoshop, so the request was not unusual. The photo in question was of my friend's grandson and their German shepherd puppy. It was cute, but seemed quite ordinary. So, I asked my friend, what made this photo so special. I found my friend's story intriguing which led me to one of my favorite series of photographs.
My friend's little grandson was five years old and was playing with their dog. Being a little boy, he was throwing little dog toys at the dog. After he finished, his mother asked him to picked up all the toys and bring them to her. Which he enthusiastically did. She said, "Now I'm going to throw them at you." Her son was shocked and became very upset. He said, "Mommy, why are you doing this? You are hurting my feelings." She replied, "I'm playing the same game you've just played with the dog. You weren't concerned about hurting the dog's feelings." "Did I?", asked the boy. "Did I really hurt dog's feelings? I'm so sorry." "Well", his mother replied, "Do not say you're sorry to me. Ask forgiveness from the dog!" And he did so with his full innocent little heart. My friend was able to capture this moment with her phone and this was the very special photo she wanted me to edit.
I loved this story and actually spent several hours trying some different backgrounds. But nothing seems to be appropriate enough to illustrated this incredible moment. So, after a few small adjustments, I decided to keep it pretty much original.
Instead of changing the background we've decided to meet and have a photoshoot to recreate the moment. But of course, it impossible to stage the little boy's pure emotions. I finished up taking a couple of a very good photos, nonetheless.
At one point during our shoot, her grandson pull my sleeve, looked into my eyes and asked, "I have a cute bunny. Do you want to see my bunny?" "I would love it", I replied. He ran upstairs and brought down a very cute and very large bunny. After meeting his bunny I asked if I can take a photo of him with his bunny. He agreed. But to my amazement instead of holding bunny in his arms, he set bunny to the ground on the green grass and lay next to it, lowering himself to be at the bunny's eye level and looked right into the bunny's eyes.
I See You
And at this moment I thought to myself, "he got it." Thanks to the brilliant lesson of his mother, he understood the simple truth of life, which usually take a lifetime of experience realize. All life on this planet is equal, and one needs only to recognize it.
