Dad’s Rubber Boots

I just checked the date on my last post and it was September 2 - so it’s been a while! My autumn has been the normal level of busy, but a knee injury put a lot of things on hold in favour of recovery. Time to get back at it.

One of my recent projects has been organizing pictures of my dad - Bill Enns. It is a cliche, but once-ordinary photographs become a lot more important after a person has passed away. Pictures that once seemed like boring, everyday scenes become special because that’s where we spent most of our time with the people we love - doing normal, everyday things. Dad hated rubber boots. They were hot and uncomfortable. But for a farmer, they were a seasonal necessity.

This photograph must have been taken in November, after the first light snowfall. The contrast between the black rubber and the newly fallen snow creates visual interest, as does the texture of the snow. Speaking of snow, I’m pleased with the way I handled the exposure of this photograph. Snow is difficult to expose well. Capturing the texture of snow requires finding the right balance between preserving texture and, at the same time, making sure that the snow is represented as white and not a muddy grey.

Since he passed away in 2008, every photograph of my dad has become special. Rubber boots may not be fine art, but they do trigger a lot of memories of working on the farm on muddy days or when we were cleaning the barn. In the picture his boots were “parked” for winter. Now, wherever they are, they are parked permanently.

Note: If you are one of my “Peeps” from Northern Ireland, feel-free to substitute “wellies” for “rubber boots.”

Nikon FE2 w. Nikkor 105 f/2.5 on Ilford XP2