Innocence / Cesar Marquez

Innocence


By Cesar Marquez

I wanted to capture the innocence of a child. A child is full of life, joy, and no worries. This is an image of my little sister dressed up and playing around in our grandmother's garden. In this image, I was able to capture my sister's carefreee feeling about wearing a pink dress and white heels while playing and running in dirt and bushes.

My little sister is leaving her childhood behind one step at a time. In the photograph, it seems as if she is stepping into a new place. This can represent leaving childhood behind. My sister is in a stage where she is no longer considered a child nor a teenager. She is somewhere in between. I have seen her grow in the past years. She no longer likes her Dora the Explorer toys. She is now more into jewelry, lip gloss, and dresses. The change of color in the leaves of the bush show that the season is changing. This can stand as a metaphor for the change in my sister's life.
This photograph is about girl culture, a child's growth, and the worries it brings. As her older brother, though, the uncertainty of this time of change makes me worry about her well-being and what her future will bring. The pink dress and the white heels give it the touch of an innocent little girl. I also believe that part of girl culture is that girls can always count on their families for the support they need while going through this transition in their lives. When I took this photo, I noticed the beautiful light shining on her dress, making it glow in an iridescent way, adding rainbow colors to the shiny pink fabric. The light contrast gives a feel of movement and life to the photograph. The strong color contrast gives strength to the photo and helps lead the eye on to the main focus of the photograph. The strong color contrast in the photo helps you picture a story, almost as if she is leaving something dark behind in the past and stepping into the sunlight, out of darkness and into something new and beautiful.