Ken and Angie's battle to restore the garden (a metaphor given what they've been through) has got me thinking. It's got me thinking of an iconic photograph by one the most human of all photographers, W Eugene Smith. He had been very badly injured covering the invasion of Okinawa
“I forgot to duck but I got a wonderful shot of those who did… my policy of standing up when the others are down finally caught up with me.”
He'd spend the next two years recovering, he never took a picture during that time, he wasn't sure if he ever would again. At the end of those two years he took a shot of his children walking in their garden.
“I forgot to duck but I got a wonderful shot of those who did… my policy of standing up when the others are down finally caught up with me.”
He'd spend the next two years recovering, he never took a picture during that time, he wasn't sure if he ever would again. At the end of those two years he took a shot of his children walking in their garden.
A Walk to Paradise Garden. W. Eugene Smith
It may seem a little sentimental now days, the passage of time can do that to a photograph. But Smith was never that. “I’ve never made any picture, good or bad, without paying for it in emotional turmoil.”
The photograph is much loved and rightly so. A symbol for healing if ever there was one
For the Smiths in their Garden
Smith's shot sums it up so well.
ReplyDeleteA garden is so important, no matter how small or big it is, it is always a place of life.
and the people in it.
ReplyDelete