"The Yellow Boat" Photo

Photographer’s Note

THE YELLOW BOAT is based on the true story of David and Sonja Saar's son, Benjamin, who was born with congenital hemophilia, and died in 1987 at the age of 8 of AIDS related complications. A uniquely gifted visual artist, Benjamin's buoyant imagination transformed his physical and emotional pain into a blaze of colors and shapes in his fanciful drawings and paintings. A Scandinavian folksong tells of three little boats: "One was blue, one was red, and one was yellow as the sun. They sailed far out to sea. The blue one returned to the harbor. The red one sailed home too. But the yellow boat sailed up to the sun." Benjamin always concluded his bedtime ritual by saying, "Mom, you can be the red boat or the blue boat, but I am the yellow boat." Benjamin's remarkable voyage continues to touch audiences around the world.

leonorkuhn, ChrisJ, dareco, shevchenko, snunney, lucasgalodoido, vmf-214, yedirenk, Royaldevon, feather, Charo, Bluejeans has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

leonorkuhn (14379) 2009-07-22 17:18

Hi Tom,

This is a moving story. Children should not suffer pain.
I like boats and ships. It's very interesting for me. Nice composition, good POV, excellent light, colors and reflections.

Greetings
Leonor

ChrisJ (70521) 2009-07-22 21:07

Hi Tom

I like the rippled patterns on the water surface, & the angled pov. Good color contrasts, between the yellow & blue, with superb sharpness. Such a sad & touching story of the child's life, cut short by a bad blood transfusion. Tfs!

dareco (17104) 2009-07-22 21:57

This is great!! Perfect detail and awesome colors. Very peaceful!! Nice lighting and pov. TFS

shevchenko (10192) 2009-07-23 0:31

Hello Tom,
Good color, lighting and exposure to show water surface shining in soft sunlight, nice reflection on the water surface with waves, and the reflection of water onto the body of boat is great to create patterns on it too, good shoot.
Ally

snunney (35840) 2009-07-23 0:55

Hello Tom,
A great mood to this fine composition. I like the diagonal placement of jetty and boat and the light and shadow contrasts. A very well conceived and presented image.

Dyerco (9396) 2009-07-23 7:10

Hi Tom
Nicely captured. The composition is simple but effective. A good sturdy little boat to sail to the sun in.
Phil

lucasgalodoido (16945) 2009-07-23 8:44

Hi Tom,
interestin picture of this alone yellow boat. Great job, my friend.
Regards,
Lucas

vmf-214 (1624) 2009-07-23 11:03

Hi Tom,

Very nice soft lighting and colors in this image. A lovely reflection on the water of the boat and dock. Excellent POV and nicely done on the sharpness and clarity Tom.

Best regards
Jason.

gneufeld (15289) 2009-07-23 14:17

Hi tom,
The diagonal lines combined with complementary colors and crisp sharpness make this a fine image. Well done and TFS. Gerald

yedirenk (7567) 2009-07-23 17:55

Hi Tom,
a wonderful scene with nice simplicity.superb diagonally composition.very lovely lonely yellow boat in the wooden pier.also excellent light,fine sharpness.well done.TFS
Greetings

Cevdet

Royaldevon (5988) 2009-07-24 1:00

Hello Tom,

Thank you for the notes; a very moving story.
This is a beautifully composed shot. The jetty is perfectly placed to supply the focal interest to the yellow boat with its delightful water reflections.
The red, in its interior, just makes the colour mix perfect.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

John_F_Kennedy (32340) 2009-07-24 1:52

Great capture with a nice atmosphere, very nice composed. I like the diaglonal perspective. Well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

feather (50560) 2009-07-24 4:02

A lovely simple image for a very moving story.
The diagonal composition works well and the yellow of the boat is very striking. I particularly like the effect of the water ripples reflecting back on the side of the boat.
At last you had some sun on your trip! :D
Kath

Charo (32190) 2009-07-24 15:46

Hello Tom,
Capture a simple but well composed and with a wonderful light. The diagonal form the dock gives graphics and depth. Good job.
Best regards,
Charo

baba_flies (8191) 2009-07-25 6:01

Hello Tom! Excellent composition with the wooden board walk running through your picture in a diagonal line and the little yellow boat sitting there in the water adding a strong contrast to your photo. A wonderful water world, reminding us of summer ... and vacation. Happy weekend, Barbara.

rodgerg (25535) 2009-07-27 2:27

Hello Tom,

A veery simple but very efficience and very nice composition. I like too the balance of the composition. The yellow color arise very well in the black.
Best regards,
Roger

Bluejeans (33423) 2009-08-09 9:27

Ola Tom ,
Bonita composição com este pequeno barco amarelo , ficou bonito o seu reflexo , bom ângulo de visão em diagonal , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo