My favorite picture: Pushkin, Russia 1993

Of all the pictures that you've ever taken, going way back to your first camera, what's your favorite?

I took this, my favorite, in February of 1993 as a high school senior on a class trip to a newly democratic Russia. I was in Pushkin on my way back from Catherine the Great's insanely luxurious Summer Palace (I quickly understood the 1917 peasant revolution after being told that everything that glitters is gold) when I saw this boy peering at us Americans through his window. It must have been a new experience for him to see so many Americans after not seeing many outsiders for so much of his young life.

I wonder where he is now, he must be in his late 20s and has probably moved far away from his home like so many Russian men. I wonder what it must have been like to grow up near one of the richest palaces in Europe, surprisingly still gilded in real gold after decades of Communism. I love the look on his face in the photo. It's total innocence, kindness, curiosity and pleasure at holding his cat all rolled into one expression. I think he is a beautiful child.

What's your favorite photo in your collection? It can be new, old, digital, print film, black and white or color. Doesn't matter, it just needs to be your favorite. Post yours and send me a link in my comment section and I'll link back to them all in a later post.

-kate