I once attended a photography workshop where everyone was asked to bring a favorite photo. Attendees were amateurs like myself who were new to photography and wanted guidance from an expert. We shared our best photo and listened carefully while the workshop leader gave his critique. The photos were almost all good and for the most part, instantly forgettable.
The only photo I remember was of a girl laughing at something outside the frame. It was out of focus, off-center and crooked.
The workshop leader stared at the photo for a few moments before carefully wording his question.
“What is this a picture of?” he said.
“It’s my daughter laughing at a chicken,” she answered.
He paused and looked closer at the picture.
“Where’s the chicken?” he said.
“It ran off,” she said. “My girl thought it was so funny!”
The instructor then gave us a lesson on framing and content. To this day, whenever I take a picture where the main subject flies out of the frame, I call it my chicken-picture or the picture that-could-have-been.
I suspect though, that the mother, whose daughter would be a sulky teenager now, will have a different recollection. Whenever she looks at the picture, she will remember the carefree day her daughter laughed hysterically at a chicken running away.
All of which points to a lesson my instructor did not give. Namely that every photo tells a story but sometimes, the picture doesn’t tell the entire story. Sometimes, backstories need to be told and the picture completes it.
For this week’s Friendly Friday Challenge, I ask you to share a photo and tell us the backstory. What makes the photo special? Why is it a favorite? Is there a story behind the picture? Is it an enhanced or modified picture? What did you do to change it and why?
If this was a challenge which awarded points, I would give extra points for submissions featuring aesthetically ‘bad’ photos with interesting backstories or ‘good’ photos described with thoughtful critiques.
For example, one of my favorite photos is this one taken in Japan.
I like it because of the colors and sense of place. The kimono, the fence and signage are indicators of traditional Japan. What makes this picture special are the visual contrasts. The kimono’s vibrant colors in the foreground against the severe lines of the building. The playful posture of the young woman peeking behind the column and the unconventional turquoise blue of her fingertips.
Another favorite is this picture taken on a misty day at the beach. The sun had burned the fog off the land but not quite off the sand, giving the beach a hazy, mysterious quality. Kids were running and I liked the contrast of their carefree movements against the grounded solidness of the adult in front. What I didn’t like was the too wide perspective and washed-out colors. A bit of cropping and creative filtering took care of that.
For examples of technically ‘bad’ photos here are a couple shots scanned from an old family album. They’re special because they were taken at my childhood home in Jamaica and capture the essence of my pre-teen years in the 70s. I’m wearing a paisley shirt blouse, white hot pants and dark suede boots – all very fashionable but totally unsuitable for hot tropical weather.
Like pre-teens everywhere, I remember being obsessed with American pop music and teen idols. I adored the music of Donny Osmond, David Cassidy and Michael of the Jackson5. All of this while totally ignoring reggae classics in the making. To me, roots / rasta / reggae music was rough and homegrown, their sound repetitious and boring in their constancy on the radio. I grew up with reggae but never truly appreciated it until years later when I lived many worlds away.
These pictures are not perfect, not only because they were scanned but they were snapped with an Instamatic and an unpractised hand. There’s not much I could do to improve the pictures but I could augment it with graphics and context. Which is what I did in my Flashback video and this particular frame.
Now, it’s over to you.
For the next two weeks, the Friendly Friday Challenge is FAVORITE PHOTOS AND WHY.
Choose a photo, tell us the story behind the photo and say why it’s a favorite.
Create a post, tag it ‘Friendly Friday’ and link it back here.
I look forward to seeing your photos and reading the backstories. Remember, you have two weeks to post, for as many times as you wish. Have fun looking through your albums & archives!
The Sandy Chronicles 
I found it hard to stop but did in the end. That Kimono is quite beautiful and Amandas comment made me laugh 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed all of your photos & backstories. I could of looked at more!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 🙂 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love that first photography Sandy… I just love how the colours pop. Here is my contribution to the challenge https://brashley.photography/2022/07/31/my-favourite-three/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful photos Bren! I esp. like your rose photo as it was favorite of my mother too.
LikeLike
Thank you … I have a wild rose growing at the bottom of my garden.. he is on strict instructions not to prune it 🤣🤣
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m curious. Is pruning bad? I thought it was a good thing to cut back on dead heads etc.
LikeLike
Cutting back the dead is good… But he murders it 🤣🤣. Practically cuts it back to nothing 🤣🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve just posted my first entry on Friendly Friday but I’m envious of what you did with your last photo. I shall have to make more time to practice with photo-editing programmes if I’m to keep up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Mari! I use Canva to make the last photo which is part of a video. It’s a very simple and easy to use tool. For examples of other work I’ve done with Canva, along with some tips & tools, you’re welcome to have a look here. https://thesandychronicles.blog/?s=canva
I was fascinated by your cargo trip, thanks for taking me along with your memories!
LikeLike
I love your first photo, simply magical.
Here is mine, I’m double-dipping with Lens-Artists:
LikeLiked by 1 person
As always, wonderful images Sofia! More so because of your write-up and backstories.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re too kind, Sandy. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry about the spelling. Bumble fingers 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t even notice until you said 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLike
Your Japanese photo is riveting. The bright kimono against the sombre background…Yiu gave an excellent eye 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. For some reason, capturing images like this is easy in Japan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Sandy – You are so right. Some of my most favourite photos are out of focus and blurry. But the memories that they bring back to life are absolutely perfect!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know what you mean. Nowadays we have our super intelligent cameras that cuts down on blurry photos. Even so, there’s always that wayward finger that gets in the photo!
LikeLike
I love your Japan photo, there’s a sense of mystery about it 🙂 Your theme is almost identical to my guest theme for the Lens Artists Challenge tomorrow, so when I publish I’ll add a link to this both as my contribution to your challenge and to suggest people double-dip, if that’s OK? We can’t expect them to post two very similar responses so they would probably do that anyway, but I think it would be good to encourage it – more traction for both of us!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not a problem at all Sarah, the more the merrier!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Sandy. I think that sometimes our opinions of photos change over time. We develop new ways of seeing the world, of being in the world, And our appreciation of photographs (and of so many things) changes as a result.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Isn’t that the truth Neil. Our perspectives change with experience. I think part of it is being able to emphasize and personalize things that we see. For instance, I’ve never appreciated the paintings by The Group of Seven until I saw is the landscapes myself. It’s not only seeing it but experiencing that which you can’t see.
Thanks for dropping by & commenting – Sandy
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the story of framing the photo – Telling the whole story. Cropping can remove too much context but add interest in the subject.
I thought the Japanese lady in kimono was throwing up at first glance. Thankfully not. That would have really been a contrast.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Until you said it, it’s never occurred to me that she was throwing up. That would certainly have been a constrast!
LikeLike
Throwing up is a bit topical in my blog community atm, (as we’ve been discussing the term yakking), so it was probably why the act of vomiting came to mind. She could just as easily been peeking around the corner.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So that explains it 🙂
LikeLike
I had thought I had better explain otherwise you might think I was fixated on adverse bodily functions! Lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And that kimono is simply stunning! So I hope she wasn’t yakking!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a lot of favourite photos.not because they are good in techical terms but because of a time/place they remind me. I hope to join this challenge,after all I have 2 weeks time.love your teen photo
LikeLiked by 1 person
I look forward to seeng you photos Tanja 🙂
LikeLike