"I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play, and wild the sweet, the words repeat, Good Peace on Earth, Good will To Men."
Christmas time isn't about the presents, its about celebrating the birth of Christ and the reason we come together as families, friends, and old acquaintances to celebrate such a glorious occasion. Its also very easy to lose yourself in the gift giving, the food, the festivities, but if we all take a moment, maybe even ring a bell or two, to remember the real reason for the season, then I think everyone would have a better appreciation of our Lord above.
What an unusually large "jingle bell"! Very cool. I like that you thought out what you wanted to present, what to tell with your picture, then executed that. After reading your notes, I can see her stepping out into the cold to ring the bell for a visitor approaching, to welcome them to the home. Black and white suits this well and I very much like that we can see the snowflakes falling behind her.
Love the sense of anticipation in this shot, and the way she seems to be holding the ornament as though we could expect to see incense smoke wafting from it. Even without the explanation, it is a strong and intriguing image.
"I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Longfellow wrote it. It's a lovely poem and hymn. Interestingly, there are a 4th and 5th stanza to the hymn/poem that are always omitted when it is sung as a carol:
"Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Longfellow, you see, wrote this while the Civil War was raging, and the song in its entirety is more of a lament and a plea than a carol of joy. It's fascinating to me how things change over the years :-) But it's one of my favorite carols.
As to the picture, I like it very much, though I have to say it "means" more to me when coupled with the text than it would if I had encountered it in a regular challenge sans details. Nevertheless, the sense of snowfall, the understated processing, the quiet winsomeness of the entire presentation, work for me. Nice job.
Nice shot, composition is good, and processing is nice.. Despite the fact that there was snow falling, I don't get the "snowing" feeling (A longer shutter could make that happen :) !), but I do get a very nice winter holidays feel.
I like this. Looks like she is eagerly waiting for someone to arrive. Excellent b/w tones and great usage of depth of field. Not enough to obscure the background, but enough to give a sense of dimension to the scene.
This is a great shot! I love that she is facing away from us. She is leading us into the picture. Great B&W and you have the tones and the contrast perfect.
i love the whole feeling of this image .. such a strong feeling of anticipation .. the way the girl is standing focusing on that 'thing' in the distance which reminds me of a monument, the bauble in her hand, the snow ..
love the delicate processing and sepia toning .. i also like the perspective ..
this is excellent .. :)
after reading the photographer's comments this image becomes even more the story of christmas .. :)
I think Wendy's advice is good - the composition here is so strong that even minor aberrations stand out. If I was being really fussy, I'd take a small slice off the top of the image too.
However, the overall feel of the image is lovely and the toning perfect. I'd give this a good 6 in a Free Study.
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