My youngest son Andrew has a genetic disorder (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and/or Osteogenesis imperfecta) that results in broken bones often (but thank God not hundreds of broken bones like some OI). We haven't been able to get a confirmed diagnosis, but we have an appointment with the Shriners Hospital for Children in Shreveport, LA in December. Anyway, this shot was setup as a tribute to his triumph. Actually this shot is of his big brother because I had to set the chair up on the top of my truck and I couldn't risk Andrew falling off! My oldest son was happy to do it and I liked the way the shot turned out. I'm glad it struck a chord with you all.
The setup for the shot was pretty quick and simple, I just placed the wheel chair on top of my truck (because I haven’t cut my grass lately and I wanted a clean image), locked the wheels and had Samuel do the “victory” pose…I wished I had turned Samuel toward the sunset as suggested by jblaylockrayner as I think that would have been a better pose.
I shot RAW and pushed the white balance way up to 50000 and tint to +86 to make it warm, cropped and saved as web.
Here are some other shots of Andrew:
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Place: 2 out of 80 Avg (all users): 7.1646 Avg (commenters): 8.0357 Avg (participants): 6.7419 Avg (non-participants): 7.2264 Views since voting: 6973 Views during voting: 446 Votes: 243 Comments: 66 Favorites: 16 (view)
A beautiful image and tribute to adversity, turning him towards the sun might have helped but either way a great image, I've worked with kids with multiple-handicaps and syndromes for years and this touches my heart deeply. Regardless of what life offers they are children first, well done.
I appreciate the sintement jonnienye, but I must say that I think Jeff's shot was well deserving and still number 1 in my mind. The date stamp on his shot was a technicality and I realize that rule has to be hard and fast but that shouldn't take away from his accomplishment.
im glad this image was bumped up to second,should be first,i mean a hummingbird shot?! come on....the name of the challenge was "triumph"...this image is way more deserving,it totally conveys a triumph in my book (no offense to the bird guy,that was a great image,it just didnt meet the challenge imho) the way i see it a photo should tell the story,yours does. he(the bird guy) had to convince the voters that his photo was some sort of personal triumph (wasnt everyones? i mean we all thought our photos good enuff to enter in a challenge didnt we)sorry for the rant,thanx for the wonderful image of triumph.jmn
Just took a look at your other images too and I have to say there are a lot of parents in your situation that would tell the child that they can't do things. I can tell you aren't one of those parents and you should be highly commended for it. Sure the child has some limitations but too quickly people will become over protective and not allow the child to even think for himself let alone go in a tree house (I know you will have your limits, such as on top of the car, but everyone has limits).
Our church once had a women vist that suffered from this same condition (brittle bone?). She and her husband have been doing missionary work in different countries despite the fact that she was in a wheelchair and had had almost every bone in her body broken several times over. She was amazing and it's because she was given the chance to do it, instead of being told she couldn't.
Jason what an AMAZING photo! Thank you for sharing your story with us. My prayers go out to Andrew that someday this wheelchair will sit unused as a tribute to his triumph!
And congratulations on YOUR triump with this beautiful photo and ribbon!
Jason, I'm delighted that this shot finished in the ribbons. It's a tribute to both Andrew and the rest of your family that he comes across so positively in these shots and looks so full of life.
p.s. I've just read the right up and see that in this case it was actually his brother that posed - but that changes nothing. It's a great shot, and your other shot's of Andrew show a happy boy.
Well done to all of you and I hope his tests in December go well.
I have three boys and my youngest broke his leg earlier this year. I hated seeing him in pain, and I can't imagine having a child going through it multiple times. I will add Andrew to our prayer list and I wish him and your family well...
God Bless!
JD
What a beautiful silhouette. I love the clouds low in the background as they help add texture in dimension to your shot. The pose of your model is excellent - V for victory! Gorgeous colors.
With no apparent display of triumph or success, this shot comes across as pure exploitation of a kid in a wheelchair. Will it do well? I imagine so. Even has a sunset for bonus points. But what's it have to do with anything?
I wasn't going to vote in this challenge until I saw this photo and since I want my vote to count I am gonna have to vote on em all - a perfect 10 for me, I sure hope you make this print so people can use this in offices around the world as an image of success and "triumph" -- good luck
Nice capture - Like the pose and feel but can't help think this would have been a much stronger image if the boy was looking away from us as when he is looking at us I feel we need to see his face.
this is nice...you know you couldve made this more dramatic if it looked like he was about to walk. Now that wouldve been a photo that spoke for itself. good luck anyway!
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