The Art - Photography

A birthday party for a little girl in her backyard plastic pool guarded over by an elephant with lively, goggly eyes. Under a large tree, everything was mostly in shadow, the play of dappled light full of personality, mostly soft, sometimes bright, hot away from the tree. The adults are adulting with their beers and with talk, but for the child it's all about enjoying the water in that safe environment where she feels secure and the adults not so preoccupied with their party time that she wasn't its center, the focus of their attention always partly on her. The older child who's also enjoying the pool was my son, the only one of his age present, game to enjoy the kiddie pool as well, taking care to be a polite guest and cautious not to hog the space (he had been unaware there would be water, but spontaneously joined in and got wet). Nice contrasting details are supplied by the black and white swirl skirt worn by one woman, the plaid pattern of a man's madras shorts, and the sheen of my son's shorts. Completing the scene in what should be a very expected way is a friendly dog wandering between people's legs and flip-flopped feet.

The birthday child's face and attitude was involved and engaging, she was an animated subject, and wasn't averse to me and the camera. Perhaps I was a little prejudiced toward her, as my husband had been around her some, had watched her growing up that year, and said she had very much reminded him of our son at that age. I scoffed, then was in awe when I met the child as he was right. It was like going back in time and visiting our son again at one. But in that way she was also very much her own person.

I found the scene so interesting that I did a digital painting based on one of the photos.