Dear readers,
The end of the year is the perfect time for reflection, and at Hampshire Life, the way that manifests itself is through our photographers’ picks for their photos of the year. Carol Lollis, Kevin Gutting and Jerrey Roberts spend all year out in the community, capturing moments — a few of which show up on Hampshire Life’s photo gallery page. What I love about the photo galleries is that I get to read about the story behind the picture, and this week we get a sextuple helping of that — with their six photos of the year.
What strikes me looking at them is that the emotion conveyed on the subjects’ faces truly make the photos. We are trained from birth to be moved by shapes people make with their mouths and by angles of people’s eyebrows.
This year’s crop seemed to focus on particularly young people, who often are less able to hide their emotions from outside observers. That’s especially true with Carol’s photo of students at White Brook Middle school reacting to a spider in the woods. Through looking at each child’s face, we know exactly what they are thinking.
While that photo conveys the children’s surprise, Kevin’s two photos communicate two moments of placid wonder — one with a child and donkey mirroring one another’s relaxed expression, and the other with a child in the seat of a racer, seeming to savor the moment.
Jerrey’s two photos are both unique sports moments where the unexpected happens. Particularly, the shot of the baseball playing losing his helmet as the ball is suspended above his head like a halo, stands out as a magical moment, though the contorted expression of the player in profile communicates otherwise.
Enjoy this, our last issue of 2019, and have a happy New Year.
— Dave Eisenstadter