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Posted by Nataly (Santa Monica, United States) on 8 May 2009 in Miscellaneous and Portfolio.

OK, who am I kidding?! I keep complaining that I`ve got nothing to show. But then I go through my iPhoto library and I find this photo which was taken last year. At the time it did`t appear even a bit interesting to me. But now I am looking at it and laugh. I know it is my kid and at the moment the photo is taken it is nothing but what I see in front of me, and somebody who drives me crazy!! :))) but as the time passes by there is nothing more precious then these photos. As I looked at this image, i, all of a sudden remembered all from the start.. From his birth to the present day. No, I am not crazy, but there is something in this photo... May be the shapes and the free and open frame... So here it is , one of those :)

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Comments (17)

Mike from Lichfield, United Kingdom

This is a really cool shot Nataly. OK, so you could argue that the highlights have blown out but who cares. In this instance the blown highlights add to the impact and the off-centre circle makes for an interesting composition. I love the black and white conversion too.

8 May 2009 6:19am

romine from bucharest, Romania

such an amazing shot. really now, this is great! i like the concentric greyscale and the powerful light at the superior end. just amazing

8 May 2009 7:12am

k@ from Paris, France

Terrrrrrrrrrrrrrific shot, i lOvE it !! How did you do it, Nataly ? It's strong & strange at the same time, a little bit of sci-fi and a lot of power as if the kid was in a whirlpool or.... in your eye !
Bravo xxxxxxx

8 May 2009 8:01am

Ronnie 2¢ from London, United Kingdom

This really is an engaging image . . like, as you suggest, peering into some time portal.

8 May 2009 11:38am

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

This is so cool Nataly. Like looking through a tunnel of time, perhaps revisiting ones own childhood.
So creative and wonderful!

8 May 2009 12:22pm

Luis A. De Jesus R. from Mexico City, Mexico

I have heard of photographers that recommend not looking at one's photos or negatives for up to two weeks after exposure. Quite often we feel that we took that one great shot only to realize a week later that we find much wrong going on in it. I took a small course in composition the other day and started to go through all my negatives. It seems some can be saved with slight cropping, but most don't measure up.

A month or so ago I found a picture taken in 2006 I did not want to post because I felt it fell short of anything worth viewing. This year I processed it in Photoshop and posted it on Flickr, and here, and a week later I got a call from a popular magazine in Mexico City asking to use it in their April or May edition.

All this to say that you too found a winner in this shot, and that it's worth taking time between the moment the shot was taken and when you work on them. You simply see it differently and the feelings attached to the moment when you took the shot have changed. Great execution in this one, Nataly. Your son seems to be exiting some large spacecraft.

8 May 2009 4:25pm

@Luis A. De Jesus R.: Thank you very much, Luis for taking your time to write this comment. I agree with the idea of' letting it sit for a while'. At the time this was taken it was only a tube slide we used to play with almost every day, but now, almost a year later it has a very different feel and look. And my kid looks rather different now. So I am detached from the subject and that helps me to see it differently.

Howard F. from South Pasadena, Calif., United States

See, you were worried about having nothing special to post after Argentina... this is a wonderful post. I agree with Luis above and I have heard/read the samething from several people. I have learned not to be trigger happy with the Delete button. Look at the same shot months and years after, something magic will happen. Bravo on the shot and I sense a bit of Bond, James Bond vibe here ;)

8 May 2009 8:29pm

@Howard F.: Thank you, Howard. I had the Bond thought as well. Just didn`t want to mention to avoid suggesting the idea to the viewers. But as well I see many things in this image.

Veronelle from Lens, France

impressive and fantastic

8 May 2009 10:38pm

missparis from PARIS, France

Géniale cette prise

10 May 2009 7:45pm

Chris Chisu from Seattle, United States

Sometimes the best pictures come when we try the least to get one. This one is amazing.

10 May 2009 7:49pm

Ken from United States

Nataly, great image. I think it looks like he is sitting in a giant trumpet horn! The reflective quality gives the setting a timeless original view.

11 May 2009 5:38am

dkc from Xanthi, Greece

This photo is great! I like the expression of the kid as he is heading down to you and the tones are really amazing!

11 May 2009 11:13pm

Ti from Alpharetta, United States

"We spent the first three years telling our children to stand up and talk...then we spent the next 16 years telling them to SIT DOWN and SHUT UP!", that's parenting. :-)

Cherish what you have because you'll never know what they'll become later on...

My younger son was the most active kid with the most stubborn personality I've ever seen in my life. Well known to our friends and relatives for clowning (just think of Jim Carrey..) and never stops talking all thru the age of maybe 10. He is now 21 and has turned into the most polite gentleman I've ever seen in my life! He always opens doors for people wherever he goes, says "thank you" to everyone for everything, and very gentle not clowning any more. We show old family videos recently and he was shocked how "bad" he was and kept apologizing for his behavior... :-)

We missed the old him, but we love the new him more!!! We can always watch the old him whenever we miss that.... :-) So, not only keep your shutter clicking but keep your camcorder rolling as well, time will not come back!

12 May 2009 1:39pm