Expressive Photography: Wonder
By: Author: J Bakken

Every picture tells a story. Photographs reveal a great deal to the viewer and they can be interpreted differently by individuals. When photographs feature people they often display a variety of emotions ranging from happiness to loneliness and every possible feeling in between. Capturing 'wonder' in a photograph takes the right photographer, the right subject (human or animal), and the right setting.
When I think of my photography where I have captured wonder I think of a few photo shoots that I have had with young children. The first one that comes to mind involves my ten year old niece. We were outside in her backyard in early July and we were walking through the trees when she spotted a wild tiger lily and squealed with delight. As she bent down to smell it, I captured that moment of wonder and appreciation with my camera.
Another moment when I captured wonder in a photograph is when I was taking pictures of my friend's two year old daughter in the park last fall. She was playing in the freshly fallen leaves bent down on her knees and she spotted a ladybug. She let it crawl all over her hands and she sat mesmerized at this tiny creature of nature. I managed to capture one extraordinary shot where she looks deep in thought and yet full of wonder.
A third occasion where I captured wonder was at Elbow Falls this summer with my friend's two year old son. It was his first visit to the river and the falls and he was enthralled with the rocks and the water. My friend sat him down on the edge of the river and he sat for a good ten minutes just looking all around and throwing rocks into the water. That is a rare occurence for a two year old to sit that long and I was able to take advantage of it and capture some great close ups of him with a look of amazement and awe on his face.
These pictures could be displayed in a magazine or on a billboard, or they could even be on a hallmark card. Wonder means to be filled with awe or reverent admiration, and to capture that on film is gratifying and even if you only get one great shot out of 36, you know you've got 'the one'and that's all that matters.

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