One Image from a Cold Winter

I made my favorite image this winter. The last time I think I said that was in 1992.

The story behind making this image is simple. I was in a car. The drive this afternoon was calm, the weather was cold and bleak which are two words that describe an Ohio winter vey well. But I was energized from a blustery three hours of walking around in the cold. And from 5 feet behind this vehicle I suddenly had a window into someone else's world. Activities were happening inside the Ford. People were moving, shifting, looking out windows. A dog kept raising its head to the left of the girl. It was craziness.

And then the activity stopped, nothing stirred, the dog's head ducked low to the floor of the truck and the young girl in the back turned her head to the left. She paused for a few seconds perfectly profiled and seemingly alone. I took the photograph and put the camera down as the truck pulled away.

As often is the case you never know what the image will be, what life it will have after the moment of being taken. More often than not it is an unmemorable moment and an unmemorable image. In this case, for me, it was remarkable. It feels like life.

My next favorite photograph might come sooner than 24 years from now. But it might not. Regardless i'm thankful to have this one under my belt.