Painting His Daughter's Memorial, a photo from Baja California Sur, Baja

Photographer's Note

There is a great tradition in Latin America, "Dia de Los Muertos," the Day of the Dead. It coincides with All Saints Day in the Catholic calendar.

On this day, families pack meals and go to the cemetery. They clean the graves of their ancestors and reminisce. They bring items that would be familiar to the deceased, to help guide and welcome back their souls. They truly believe that the souls of the dead are physically present with them on that day.

Here, a young father paints a memorial for his infant daughter who had died at birth in April 2008 (the dates of birth and death are on the plaque at the top of the memorial) -- two and a half years prior to this foto. At the base of the memorial is a jar of baby food and a teddy bear.

It is tempting to feel great sadness, and there is palpable grief in this scene, but the overall mood of the holiday is celebration -- by remembering the departed, they are still with us.

This was obviously an intense personal moment for this man, still grieving the loss of a child, and I did not want to intrude or interrupt, so this foto was shot from some distance. In cropping the frame for TE, I have tried to bring the image close enough to reveal the intimate details, but retain some sense of distance from his personal meditation in doing this act of reverence. I am uncertain whether I have done so successfully.

muthusamy, KristinsCamera has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

muthusamy (83) 2013-03-30 10:17

Hello Russ

Thank you for another masterpiece in street photography! Your picture and detailed notes have portrayed the emotional moments of the young father. You have remarkably captured the young father engaged with devotion in painting his infant daughter 鷔 memorial.

Your notes also details the living Latin American tradition - "Dia de Los Muertos," (the Day of the Dead) of remembering the departed souls of the (deceased ancestors) and welcoming back.

I could feel 鯿alpable grief� (still offering baby food and teddy bear familiar to the child) and the 魀ntense personal moment� of this young father portrayed thro� your photograph. The adequately cropped photograph brings out the 魀ntimate details� without disturbing 魐is personal meditation� (act of painting with devotion).

Kudos for the classic photo and I am sure you have done it successfully

No_One (4) 2013-04-19 7:54

Hi Russ,
This is a beautiful photo, sad in its way to think of the heartbreak, but in another way, a beautiful capture of the sense of eternal hope that we can imbue in the world around us.
I did see a documentary before on this festival, so its great to see your wonderful capture of it here.
Very nicely done, a very beautiful image.
All the best
Noel

KristinsCamera (2384) 2013-06-04 10:23

i think you've stuck a wonderful balance, russ ~ close enough to study the details without being in this man's face. i'm struck by how large this memorial is, especially to a newborn. i like this tradition, i think it is a good idea to have a place to put one's feelings. and he seems to be painting it a lovingly as he would have painted a cradle for this little one.

you've chosen to include a nice repeat of colours to the left as well -- two sets of pink and blue, which repeat the pink of the large memorial against the soft blue sky.

really nicely seen, thanks for sharing this ~
kristin

Photo Information

Copyright: Russ Ham (EstudioChispa) (2182)
Genre: 人物
Medium: 彩色
Date Taken: 2010-11-02
Categories: 典禮
Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10
Exposure：f/5.6, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version：Original Version
Theme(s)：Cemeteries II, Cemeteries - Cimeti鋨es, Cemeteries, Cemeteries, A MORTE- DEATH (PLACES AND RITUALS) [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2013-03-29 7:41