Monday, April 1, 2013

PHC: "Come here, Coach."

Kat Sloma hosts a photography exercise she calls "photo-heart connection," in which she asks participants to go through their photographs from the current month and select the one which has the greatest connection to their heart. I've noticed that many of the photos are selected by participants because of the emotion they evoke in the photographer or viewer, while I tend to choose photographs because of the emotion contained in the image. Not always, but many times. And this month's selection falls squarely in that category.
I took this photograph at my son's soccer award ceremony.  If you look closely, you can see that his coach is on the verge of tears. He had just given my son his participation certificate and talked about how much he will miss having Henry around after coaching him for so many years. Coach is a gruff man, a man of few words, and perhaps a bit embarrassed by his show of emotion. He was about to turn away, but Henry said, "Come here, Coach." Henry put his arm around him and told him he wanted a photograph with him. In that moment, I was so proud of my son. Proud, not of his soccer skills, but for the maturity and poise he showed in getting Coach out of a potentially awkward situation and of validating Coach's emotions. In that moment, I caught my breath because I saw Henry grow up a little bit, acting like a young man instead of a high school kid. I saw a glimpse of the man I hope he becomes. 
And I relive that moment and feel that emotion every time I look at this photograph. 
And that's what the photo-heart connection is all about for me.
There were a few other contenders for PHC honors this month. First, another one of Coach - this time staring at the Senior Award he is about to give Henry:
One of Henry, showing his fiery competitive spirit in his spring sport (baseball):
And a few which evoke a strong emotion in me, rather than display emotion:
As with all photographs on my blog, you can click on the image to enlarge it and get a better view of it. And, as always, I love to hear your feedback on my selections.
To check out other photographers sharing their photo-heart connection, go to this post. You can see my other photo-heart connection posts by clicking on the label below.

27 comments:

  1. I see signs of Henry growing up and becoming a young man, yes. What a beautiful picture and I can see why there is a "heart connection".

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  2. Hi Rinda Just catching up as it's the Easter holiday. Hope you had a great weekend. I can see from all of the photographs you have posted, how dear they are to your heart. From an arty viewpoint, I love the rusting gate latch!

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  3. It's a great shot Rinda - and years from now will remind Henry of the wonderful relationship he had with a gruff man he called Coach.

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  4. Lots of heartfelt emotion in that first picture and shows the respect Coach and Henry have for each other. If I had been there, I would have been in tears. Rinda you captured a very proud moment.

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  5. What a lovely post - it brought tears to my eyes - what a lovely young man.

    I loved all the photos - that dog one is sensational.

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  6. Totally understand why you chose this one after you shared the story. Henry will be a remarkable man, he is already showing that. Do love the other contenders, though :)

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  7. Oh what a lovely gesture on Henry's part - which also shows their relationship. Definitely a heart connection.

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  8. What a lovely memorable shot of your son and his coach! I like the story you tell about the occasion and can feel the emotion behind the moment!

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  9. I love that shot of your son and his coach, I can feel the emotion in it.

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  10. You definitely chose the right photo for this month, although there were many fine contenders.

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  11. Such a sweet story! I wish I had more pictures of some of my favorite teachers...Henry will definitely treasure this photo forever!

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  12. I can see how your emotions are so strongly tied to this photo! I love the story that goes with it!

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  13. What a wonderful picture of Henry and his coach...definately one to treasure!
    Alison xx

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  14. Your connection to your emotions, via your camera, is so evident Rinda. I feel every shot with you.

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  15. It is one of those photos that when you read the story behind it, you know why that had to be the photo with the heart connection. Wonderful.

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  16. What a touching photo, Rinda, and the protective arm and biting back tears are so well captured. Heart indeed, and yours too in the noticing and taking of it.

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  17. A perfect photo for your connection this month. I am still looking through mine, I find it a difficult practice but one worth doing.

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  18. Congrats to you on raising a son who can make his coach cry at the honor of having coached him! You're doing things right as a parent, Rinda! I love the dog peeking over the fence!

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  19. Oh what lovely photos Rinda! Love the photo of Coach and Henry, and what a great story to go with it!

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  20. I don't have children, but I can see the pride in my friends who are parents as the "boy-men" turn that corner. Speaks to the parents when they teach their children well-often by example more than words.
    PS Cute pup pic too.

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  21. He looks a fine young man and you can be rightly proud of him. I have 3 sons and I've experienced those moments too. I like how you've caught the emotion of the coach - frozen a brief moment in time.

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  22. Your selected photos not only show emotion, they evoke emotion, Rinda. Isn't it great to learn more about yourself, and what you want to capture and express with your camera? I love this story and the growth you observed in your son through this moment. Wonderful Photo-Heart Connection, and I especially love the last photo of the dog popping over the fence. It's like a beautiful surprise - it made me smile!

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  23. I liked the photo's in your post a lot, its telling a lot, I love the words going with it, it speaks about emotions. great if you can it so well.

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  24. such an honor - great kid, great parents, great coach!

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  25. Rinda, your photography is wonderful.
    Love the emotions you have captured in all your photos but the one that grabs at my heart is the coach photos. This man reminds me so much of my Dad. He was a basketball coach at his middle school for many years and was always quite emotional when it came to his teams. Love that dedication!

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  26. You've captured both types of emotion in this image...that in the image itself, and your own when you look at it. What a wonderful moment you recorded!

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  27. I'm slowly catching up on my blog reading so that's why I'm so late commenting. What an absolutely wonderful picture of Henry and his coach. So great that he wanted a picture with him.

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