Run Through the Sprinkler

Combine children with weather to create very powerful photos.



Young boys run through the sprinkler to keep cool on a hot summer day in Lowell, Ma. (© 1980 Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:

It was an oppressive summer afternoon and I was searching for a picture of someone coping with the hot weather, when I spied kids playing in the water spray from a yard sprinkler. I watched for several minutes, trying to devise a unique picture. The sun was backlighting the kids and the water spray against a perfect background of dark trees, so it made for a nicely lit photo. I stood at the perfect angle to capture the backlighting, shot several images of the kids playing, including this shot that was more artistic and beautifully lit than most sprinkler photographs.  

Reminder:

1) One great weather-related picture is kids cooling off from the summer heat.

2) Sprinklers and swimming pools are the most frequent ways kids cool off.

3) Use the sunlight to highlight the subject and make it stand out again a clean, unobtrusive background.