Photo credit: my little brother, aged 7. I set the shot up for him on my Canon AE-1 (a gift from Jim) and asked him to do this favor for me so that I’d have a picture to take away to college in 1980.
January 7, 1984
July 3, 1992. Recovering from open heart surgery. Mom tries to kiss it better.
December 2008. Eyes wide open.
The Kiss. What a photo challenge! How do you participate in a kiss and take a picture at the same time? Or if you’re not participating in the kiss, why are you photographing it? Are staged kisses different from spontaneous ones? Should kisses be documented, or should they be private? How many kiss photographs do I even have in digital format?
Well, that last one became the deciding factor. I have others in hard copy of my kids being kissed: as babies, on birthdays, at graduation and that kind of thing. I even have one of Hershey’s kisses that my husband arranged on the floor in a heart for the anniversary of our first kiss. These few tell a timely story, though. Five years ago today was the last day I kissed my husband. It was the day after Valentine’s Day. We went out to dinner at a local bar & grill, came home and watched TV, kissed each other good night and fell asleep holding hands. He never woke up. The clue to ‘why?’ is in the third photo. What’s different about the fourth photo? Different guy…and my eyes are open. Thirty years with Jim, full of youth and fairy tale and children and love and kisses, and I was often dreamy and often afraid. Four years with Steve, and I’m learning to face things, be aware, and take greater responsibility. Intimacy is even better when you’re fully awake. IMHO.
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scillagrace 
These are such personal and beautiful photos and with your written commentary you have created a powerful post. Within moments you have shown us such a range of time, transition and growth.
Images have that kind of power, don’t they? Thousands of words in one flash of neurons.
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Deeply moving post Scilla.. and I agree with your last statement.. sending hugs x
Thanks, Helen! *hugging you back!*
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Kiss | Mike Hardisty Photography
Thanks, Mike, for including me! I like your angle and the non-paparazzi credo!
There are warm and lovely photos. A delight! You certainly rose to the challenge here. Bravo!
Thank you, Jamie!
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Dear Scilla,
What a powerful post–every photo evoked so much emotion.
I’m glad…kisses are meant to be powerful, I think.
I’m a big believer in “Eyes wide open”……wouldn’t want it any other way….but kisses, the best ones anyway, still taste better with a bit of fairytale.
xx
(there’s two from a frog, just for you).
I can’t really imagine a kiss without that fairytale bit, but maybe the best magic is just that we’re really present and alive! Thanks for the gift… xx What happens if I return it?
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I probably turn into an even uglier frog…
I like my fairytales dark….
AND..
believe me, none fairytale kisses certainly do exist…..I was once orally assaulted by a russian shot-putter (female I think)….She/it grabbed me on a beach in Corfu…Think wrestling head lock, halitosis and the threat of more to come thrown in…Nightmare!!!
LOL! Well! I suppose everything is possible…but not everything is in my experience….Thank God!
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I wouldn’t have wished this on anyone….