in which the little old men meet
Today we took our quietest and friendliest little to see my husband's grandpa. (Piglet is a mommy's girl and would have ignored grandpa; Diego was the...
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Today we took our quietest and friendliest little to see my husband's grandpa. (Piglet is a mommy's girl and would have ignored grandpa; Diego was the right choice.)
These two old men have one tooth between them. And the way they sized each other up was amazing - next thing that happened was Diego wagged his tail and Grandpa smiled.
Grandpa is 94, a WWII vet, and loves dogs possibly more than I do. He won't be around much longer, but we were glad to let him meet the "puppy."
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These two old men have one tooth between them. And the way they sized each other up was amazing - next thing that happened was Diego wagged his tail and Grandpa smiled.
Grandpa is 94, a WWII vet, and loves dogs possibly more than I do. He won't be around much longer, but we were glad to let him meet the "puppy."
Read less
May, 2017Views
2727
Likes
Awards
Chatter Award
People's Choice in Story Telling in photography Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in Interesting People Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Thank You Photo Contest
Peer Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Humankind Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Categories
Platinum
CURUTCHET
November 15, 2017
thanks him for me all these men came to France to deliver us from the barbarians and many died
Platinum
JennaVee
January 19, 2018
Grandpa passed away about a week after this was taken, but he never stopped talking about "that little puppy!" Diego would make a wonderful therapy dog, and I am considering getting him certified.
GCallahan
March 24, 2022
Beautiful photo and beautiful story. My eyes are filled with tears as I read it. 💝
PRO+
Ultimate
JayneBug
September 22, 2019
So touching. Wonderful capture and image. Congratulations on your People's Choice award!
JDLifeshots
September 22, 2019
What an amazing capture! The eye contact and capture is spot on. Thank you for telling us the story and Congrats on the well deserved awards.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken in the "living room" of a hospice facility in Oregon.Time
This was afternoon, so lots of nice natural light filtered through the windows. Grandpa had just woken up to visit with us.Lighting
I added nothing, loved the light the way it was.Equipment
My trusty Nikon D800, my go-to 50mm lens (at 2.2) and handheld. This was a very on the fly photo.Inspiration
Grandpa, 94 and a WWII vet, was not long for this world. You can see the swelling in his hands from congestive heart failure. The thing he loved more than anyone, any food, any creature comfort, was dogs. Our little old rescue dog, Diego, is 11, and has just one tooth. He loves EVERYONE and is so sweet and gentle. We knew Grandpa might not even know who we were, but that he would love to see the "puppy" - and sure enough, Gramps gave Diego a big gummy smile, and Diego wagged his tail. Until the end, a week or so later, Grandpa would continue to talk about that "nice puppy" who came to visit.Editing
This photo required one major edit - a heinous "exit" sign was in the background. It was really distracting, and ruined the simplicity of the photo; it was also right in between the two subjects, so it really stood out. Thanks to editing, I was able to re-establish the eye-contact between the two "old men" as the main focus. I couldn't really move to take the photos, so I knew it would have to come out later in post.In my camera bag
My D800. I have a Sigma ART 50mm 1.4 lens that essentially lives on that body. It can be challenging to use one prime lens as a primary lens, but the results are always so sharp and beautiful and the colors are rendered so nicely that I've learned to work with one lens almost exclusively. I have a Nikon 80-400 - it's a beast and I LOVE it for traveling. When I travel I also carry a Sigma ART 24mm 1.4, which is a fantastic lens. It's my go-to landscape lens. Add in an SB900, plenty of memory cards and batteries, lens cleaning cloth, CPL, and ND9 filter. I carry my iPhone in my pocket for on the fly meter readings, and for quick videos of places I visit. I am also fond of carrying a film camera - a Holga or a pinhole will do. I stopped carrying my 6+ pound Mamiya RB67 because I'm lazy... I recently invested in underwater camera housing, in fact I had to switch from the Sigma 20mm I loved to the Sigma 24 so it would fit in the housing. (If THAT'S not a first world problem...)Feedback
Keep it simple. I had one camera, one lens, and didn't make a lot of fuss, didn't try posing anyone or giving directions. I just sat back and watched the meeting unfold. I just made sure my settings were good then paid attention. I knew I'd have to edit out an ugly sign in the background, but I knew I could do that. I was also keenly aware that this would likely be the last portrait ever made of my husband's grandfather - so I wanted him to look happy. It just took some patience for the magic to happen to between him and my doggie. It really helped knowing how much Grandpa loved animals, I knew we'd get a smile out of him.
