Knocking on Heaven's Door

[MiniChris]

This is a picture of my mother-in-law who turned 95 on November 12th. It is certainly not a flattering portrait so to speak, but I wasn't going for pretty as much as recording a typical day for her as she lays sleeping in her favorite chair. Sleeping is her way of life now, 22 hours a day at this juncture. It makes me wonder how it is she has lived this long yet doesn't have the ability to just call it quits and slip quietly into the next step in her journey. This is the only thing I fear about aging...no more control.

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Chris,

I think this is a very powerful shot. It says so much. The composition is simple (including the newspaper) but well balanced and the lighting just right. I feel I could reach out and touch the texture in the shawl.

Extremely well done from my viewpoint.

[mythlady]

I agree with Peter. While not a conventionally "beautiful" shot, it is very touching and conveys a lot of emotion.

Well done.

[MiniChris]

While it is "sad" in a sense to see her like this, there is also great joy in having known someone, who up until a year ago was still making her own meals, avidly watching Jeopardy (and being right 90% of the time), doing crosswords in ink and still knitting. Last January, she suffered a series of small strokes until she had one rather bad one and hence her current condition. Like I stated earlier, old age is almost a given on my side of the family and the thought of being robbed of life as I know it now, leaves me with a cold feeling, indeed. But, nobody gives us any guarantees while we walk among the mere mortals. We get what life chooses...still...
I take your comments in the highest regard as I admire both your styles of work.