County Fair - Calamity
This girl was angry.
Last year was her first year showing sheep for 4-H. She came in second, earning herself a ribbon. This year she was determined to win the coveted first place prize ... a trophy. Every summer morning at 7:30AM she would feed and train with her sheep, sure to out-perform last year's stock.
2007 will go down as the year 4-H decided that competition at this young age could be bad for the children, and decided to hand out bags of candy as "participation prizes" for all entrants.
That is when the calamity ensued...
Comments and faves
kabn, donnacv, mkgraham, ckm2005, and 41 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Old_Pro (70 months ago | reply)
BS
Mozambique - Moments (70 months ago | reply)
Oh no.. how sad !!
Great photograph capturing the frustration and dissapointment...
carolyn_in_oregon (70 months ago | reply)
oh man! how unfortunate
~v.h~ [deleted] (70 months ago | reply)
no...! OP's right! im so sorry for her.. all that hard work & dedication... :(
Very very good bw shot Jim... you've captured her emotions perfectly! what a moment, what a pose! i wonder what she did with the candy... or with her last year's ribbon..
Hope she's feeling better now.. and you, you my friend, you win a trophy :)
You are MY WINNER!
Please add this photo to
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Cuyah (70 months ago | reply)
GREAT PHOTO!
This injustice could fuel the lyrics for a country song.
kabn (70 months ago | reply)
Speechless. What an amazing photograph. You've caught so much of Carrie here. Wow. (I guess I wasn't quite speechless, but close :) )
starscomeout7 (70 months ago | reply)
Great capture! Love the black and white treatment.
shiphome (70 months ago | reply)
That look says it all, doesn't it? I don't blame her. A crushing blow to the spirit of competition.
What remarkable emotion you have captured in this image.
donnacv (70 months ago | reply)
Great portrait, wonderful story and somehow a bag of candy doesn't seem the same as a ribbon or trophy, after all that hard work.
The World Through My Eyes
Maxwell Edison* (70 months ago | reply)
A perfect look for the b/w. Great work
gee hue [deleted] (70 months ago | reply)
A perfect capture getting the frustration and the disappointment ... you are very good at captuing the range of human emotional response ....
andreasnilsson1976 (70 months ago | reply)
What a serious girl! Good capture of her!
ckm2005 (70 months ago | reply)
cute shot!!.....what did you do to her.(lol)....great shot my friend!!...like the bnw conversion....
jimmah_v (70 months ago | reply)
delightful -- perfect composition
123
Rob Millenaar (70 months ago | reply)
She has every right to be pissed...
Wonderful capture!
--
Seen in 1-2-3 (?)
eman59 (70 months ago | reply)
great story, and a great image to illustrate it. that is one pissed off girl. this series is really wonderful.
Daniel1703 [deleted] (70 months ago | reply)
great image, Jim .. you've captured that moment and her emotions perfectly !
Noel Joyeux (70 months ago | reply)
What a sad and unfair story... :( I'm not sure I understood, they said that competition was bad for children ?!!! :O That's stupid ! Someone should tell them that school, sport, games, etc... are competitions !!!!
Yet, your shot is great. We perfectly read the story and the anger of this girl on her face, in her eyes. B&W is the best choice for that.
davetakesphotos (70 months ago | reply)
I think we should take up a collection and send her a trophy. She deserves one with that kind of dedication and discipline!
PS - Another awesome shot, my friend. You're working some magic here. Just the right moment, just the right expression.
t.elizabeth lee (70 months ago | reply)
what a portrait..your words and your story combined with her stance and expression potray such emotion! and yes...what frustration she must've felt..and rightly so! love this..
shannonkristine (70 months ago | reply)
Love it! The story just makes it even better!
matt... (70 months ago | reply)
super tones and caught emotion!
Paul Octavious (70 months ago | reply)
this is so good j.
BruceTheEconomist (70 months ago | reply)
Great picture and what a poor kid!
photoeyesee (70 months ago | reply)
J , once again you have captured a Timeless Image !!!! her look speaks volumes !!!!! A Great work My Friend !!!
ramislevy (70 months ago | reply)
Great image1
Definitely a winner!!!
You deserve another one.
Found in www.flickr.com/groups/mywinners/
j image (70 months ago | reply)
Thanks very much, all, for the nice comments and faves. I sure enjoy reading them. :)
OP - That's for sure. Exactly what our heroin was thinking. :)
Mozambique - Moments - Thanks. It was a character-building event for her. :)
carolyn in oregon - Tough to be 8 sometimes...
vaneska~tHOmz - Funny you mention it, Vanessa. She was upset at the irony of them giving her candy. She seems to have a blood-sugar count that prevents her from eating too much sugar. She made that point qutie clear.. :) Thanks for the trophy and nice comment, my friend.
Cuyah - Great observation, Chris. And what better place to howl a country derge than at a county fair? :)
kabn - You're funny, Steve. Not speechless ... funny. :) I'm glad you like the photo.
starscomeout7 - Thank you much. I'm glad you like it. :)
shiphome - Thank you, Don. Sure was a blow. It will be interesting to see if she shows up in the ring next year.. :)
donnacv - Certainly doesn't. They say these things make us stronger ... but not necessarily when you're 8. :) Thanks for the nice comment.
maxzip2 - Thanks, my friend.
gee hue - Hey, Greg, thanks for saying so. That means a lot to me, my friend.
andreasnilsson1976 - Thanks, Andreas.
ckm2005 - Hey, all I did was capture the moment. The disappointment was stemming from another source! *lol* Thanks again for the kind words, my friend. :)
jimmah v - Thanks much.
Rob Millenar - Couldn't agree more, Rob.
eman59 - I'm glad you like this series, Emmanuel. Thanks for your thoughts and comments regarding my fair shots. :)
PS - I don't know if I could look that ticked if I tried...
Daniel1703 - Thanks a lot, my friend.
isa_ius - It is pretty silly, isn't it? I think what they were saying was that these children are too young to compete, for they didn't want a "loser" at this young age. They felt they were too fragile to handle a loss. Well, I don't agree and I think this young lady shows the counter-arguement. She worked her fanny off for a back of snickers and tootsie rolls that she can't eat! :)
Thanks again for your kind words, my friend. Always appreciated.
doofusdave - You know what, Dave, that is a great idea. I think I might take your idea and run with it. I'll have the trophy shop etch a DD (for doofusdave) on the bottom to remind me where the idea came from. :)
And thank, brother, for always being good to me. You're a kind one. Thanks.
.:tara:. - Thanks for the great comment, my friend. I appreciate it. :)
shannonkristine - Thank you. :)
matt... - Thanks, Matt.
Dunny - Hey, Paul ... thanks much.
BruceTheEconomist - Thanks, Bruce.
photoeyesee - You're too kind, Vincent. Thanks for always encouraging me. I do appreciate it. :)
ramislevy - Hey, thanks for the double-up. :)
N. Mexico (70 months ago | reply)
Wow! I don't blame her for being a little angry!!! This shot is wonderful, though! A really great portrait and capture! You really get a "small town America feel" in this shot. I really love it!!! :)
L'embellie (70 months ago | reply)
Love love love !!!
Definitely a winner!!!
You deserve another one.
Found in www.flickr.com/groups/mywinners/
FOTOGRAFIA.Nelo.Esteves (70 months ago | reply)
Great portrait! I love how you captured her attitude LOL
A V A [deleted] (70 months ago | reply)
Aaaww, poor girl. Thank you for sharing her story, it adds sooo much to the image, which is already so interesting by itself.
myviewmywebsite (70 months ago | reply)
aw that's horrible. great photojournalism by the way!
al;skfwoe [deleted] (70 months ago | reply)
amazing image. she's still so sweet in her disappointed expression. poor sweety..
j image (70 months ago | reply)
Thanks for the faves, folks. That is special.
N. Mexico - I'm glad you like this, Tina. Thanks for being kind enough to say so. I do love walking around the barns and midways of the county fair. So much to see..
L'embellie - thanks thanks thanks !!! *lol*
As Seen Through Hazel Eyes - Hey, thank you, Nelo. Nice to see you again.
A V A - Thanks very much, Vanesa. :)
myviewmywebsite - Thanks for the nice comment. Sure appreciate that. :)
ohh... cuore - I thought so too, my friend. It must be the pigtails that make her still endearing. :)
anjan58 (70 months ago | reply)
awesome story, fantastic portrait. her posture says it all!
farlane (70 months ago | reply)
I love it J!
Triple fave, and a blue ribbon scowl!
a_work_in_progress! (70 months ago | reply)
When I look at your photo I see restrained anger and a bit of hurt. Nice capture.
peterleix.net (70 months ago | reply)
awesome, Love the way you captured the moment.
farlane (70 months ago | reply)
As is often the case, I found a perfect use for the photo - it's featured on our Michigan Shout Out Page.
Thanks for adding to the Absolute Michigan pool!
lucy_nka (70 months ago | reply)
Aw, man.. I'd be royally pissed off if that happened to me ;) Pardon my French..
I love how crisp this image is. Great moment, great expression, great capture.
annick777 aka elia grace (70 months ago | reply)
i LOVE that shot!! so moody!! :)) love her expression and her pose!! super great shot!! :))
lutonian (70 months ago | reply)
a wonderful portrait and story ! i hope she achieved her goal this time.
loganinkosovo (70 months ago | reply)
If looks could kill. :)
You can almost see her thoughts......
"I work my butt off for a year and all I get is a GD bag of Candy?!?!?!?"
Life is tough when things are run by a bunch of Namby-Pamby twits who want to lower the playing field so everyone looses equally.....
As you see competition brought her confidence, determination and a good work ethic instead of "Scaring her Psyche".
Maddy C. (70 months ago | reply)
I can understand her reasons...
You captured her feelings very well Jim... her face expression, her body language, they all tell the story.
j image (70 months ago | reply)
anjan58 - You should have seen her posture when she was politely giving the judges what-for! :) Thanks, by the way.
a work in progress - Great description. Thanks for the thoughts and nice comment.
Pistol Pete' - Thanks, bro-Pete. I appreciate you being a friend.
farlane - Thanks for the triple fave, the blue ribbon scowl, and the recognition on your Michigan site. I'm honored. Thank you much.
lucy_nka - Thanks, Lucy. Yeah, she was hot as a tornado. She tore through the judges booth letting them know that injustice at this young age is unacceptable. "Don't you know how fragile we are at 8 years old?!?" :))
annick777 - Thanks, Annick. She does express herself well, no? :)
lutonian - Thanks, my friend. She actually did quite well. She may have gotten than first place, if they judged it that way..
loganinkosovo - You described her attitude quite well. :) I told her that whether she had a trophy to show for her work or not, that she did fantastic. That appeased her little.. :)
Maddy C. - Hi Maddy. I certainly can sympathize with her, also. Thanks for your kind words again, my friend. :)
se_kwien (70 months ago | reply)
I would be angry as well, she has my full support!
Karol_M (70 months ago | reply)
One bad ass pose.
Eliza Beth [deleted] (70 months ago | reply)
Great shot - what a story to go with it! You captured the whole scene perfectly!
j image (70 months ago | reply)
se_kwien - I'd be ticked, as well. :)
Karol_M - Thanks! I think the rolled up sleeves make her look ready to open a can of whoop-ass. :)
Eliza Beth - Thanks much, Liz.
St_Tr_Verkhovensky (70 months ago | reply)
Amazing model and photo !
Bravo!