9/14/09

FAMILY DYNAMICS, it's all in the details


Family dynamics. Sooner or later we all think about them. The interaction of each person on the other. How we help shape each others world. In this vernacular photograph I think there are some serious family dynamics taking place...then again, maybe not.

This was found inside a bag of photos I purchased at a flea market. The bag was bought for 50 cents and I basically had no real idea what was inside. I'd taken a quick look, but it was a hot sunny day and I simply couldn't get my eyes to focus enough to see the details. And for 50 cents I was going to argue? Well, yeah, maybe I would, but I'll keep that between me and the sellers.

You know me, I love the details. The details are the spice in everything. They're what bring out the flavors. And in this shot there are some seriously interesting details that only popped out when I blew it up. I kid you not, I only saw three people in the photo. A nice little family pastiche. Daddy oh so proud of his baby. Baby so happy with his wagon, but confused as to why he had to suddenly stop running down the sidewalk. And then mom, reading the paper. Not the least interested in being in the photo. "Okay," I thought, she was busy, it wasn't as if she was making the statement "Leave me alone!" She's just reading the paper and someone with a camera is interacting with her husband and child. They're having fun. She's looking at the society column.

And then I saw HIM. HIM standing at the end of the sidewalk, arms crossed, perfectly framed. HIM who is barely even noticeable in the actual photo. He was what was lurking in the details. He is part of the family dynamic. Oh, the stories I was soon telling. I had these people in all sorts of messes. A family member smiled at me and said I had a seriously twisted mind. I didn't think so. I just saw possibilities. Lots and lots of possibilities. I think you will too.

This photo was one featured in my Blurb book Tattered and Lost: Volume I. And yes, there will be a volume 2. I'm working on it.


family dynamics_tatteredandlost
Click image to see it larger.

And I want to give a big THANK YOU to Linda at The Paper Collector for saying some very kind words about both of my blogs today. It's really nice to know that someone is enjoying this rambling gait of mine through the vernacular world.

9 comments:

  1. I say Grandpa and Grandma were visiting and he walked around the corner and had to wait while G-ma got the perfect shot of her darling son and grandchild.

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  2. Okay, that gives us one in the wholesome column. Any other ideas?

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  3. The photographer is in a passive / aggressive family.

    The child is too small to take part.

    The guy in the background, backed off far enough so as not to take part in the photo....the photographer proved him wrong.

    The woman is pretending to be to busy and "splayed out" to be bothered to be moved and is also showing that she is not a willing participant.

    The man with the child is doing his part to tick the other two off with the help of the photographer.

    Whose making lunch..and what will be the dinner disscussion.

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  4. Oh I knew there were stories out there just waiting to be told.

    Dinner. Not much was said. Nobody much liked the casserole the bride made for the 8th time in two weeks. Succotash.

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  5. Ah, but whose parents are they, and why, much like in my own baby pictures, is the child not smiling.

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  6. Ahhhhh, the plot thickens.

    But I'm beginning to think my relative was right and my mind is twisted because none of my versions are nearly as simple as those given today.

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  7. Okay, that didn't come out right. What I meant to say is that my version is much more twisted.

    Did I really just offend my reader friends by saying "simple"? No, your versions are not simple. My mind is strange.

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  8. You know my story. and I'm sticking to it!
    They are all siblings.
    Sister is reading the fashion page of the newspaper.. and is suppose to be watching the baby.She doesn't want to be bothered. The baby is from father's re marriage.(he was a widower).Sister resents the new stepmother trying to take over the household. One brother is resentful of having the new sibling. other brother likes the baby okay. He tries to please everyone.

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  9. And you know my version. Woman married to man with child because he wasn't allowed to marry who he wanted who is now standing at the end of the sidewalk feeling left out. The triangle.

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