Trick-or-Treat, a photo from Michigan, Midwest

Photographer's Note

For Halloween I wanted to post a photo of an early "trick-or-treater" I ran into on my recent cross-state day trip. She seemed somewhat shy as I photographed her. You can see she's blushing in embarrassment. She was saying,"Please, my hair is such a mess." But she was just so perfectly in the Halloween spirit I insisted she let me photograph her to share with people all around the world. Finally she agreed to let me take a couple photographs of her decked out for the holiday.

Halloween is a fun end to October. Not officially a holiday recognized by the US Government it is probably one of the most, if not the most, popular holidays in the opinion of many people. Perhaps it's the mix of dressing up and being with friends and memories of going door to door as a child for candy and treats.

Ionia seems like the perfect kind of town to go door to door "trick or treating". The main street is a quaint grouping of buildings with a red-brick road. Turn of the century homes line the streets as do trees and lots and lots of leaves fallen from the trees. All along the main street they had these figures set up attached to light posts and newspaper stands to get the town further into the spirit.

And this one was, as I said, kind enough to allow me to photograph her. And in gratitude I gave her a treat.

snuggleaphagus, hispic, papagolf21, elihesamian, jhm, wilkinsonsg, kajenn, nwoehnl, robiuk, orme, bpelvan, phi729, Kenny10pin ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

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snuggleaphagus (4146) 2004-10-29 23:51

Although a bit stiff Prunilla (that is her name right?) is quite attractive in her striped shirt and open arms. Her outstreched arms seem to be welcoming us into the photo and to her town. It was so very selfless that she allowed you to photograph her. Her hair is not so bad I like the way it frames the face, as she looks at the camera with a shy look, Her nose is another thing it appears quite limp and slightly wilted.
Good capture, and Prunilla makes a great subject.

papagolf21 (152607) 2004-10-30 4:13

Belle note philisophique Paul !
Le Nouvel An celtique :
Halloween est aujourd’hui une fête très populaire aux USA. Mais elle est à l’origine une fête européenne, la Samain. D’abord très vivace chez les Gaulois, cette fête aurait continué à se développer en Irlande, en Ecosse et au Pays de Galles, tandis que la culture celte s’amenuisait en Gaule. Elle a été importée en Amérique au milieu du XIXe siècle par les émigrés irlandais, fuyant la famine, ainsi que par les Gallois et Ecossais.
Amusante composition, Paul.

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sn00zie (2384) 2004-10-30 4:24

haha.. i like your note and the picture too. she DOES look shy ;)

Halloween sounds so interesting, and i've only seen it in movies-i wish i could experience it one day

elihesamian (26149) 2004-10-30 5:44

Well seen Paul,...funny,and with a great note,and your dialoge with her:)

well captured with a vivid colors special warm orange tone,and good use of DOF with attention to a nice perspective,I like it,Paul.

jhm (211736) 2004-10-30 6:46

Hi Paul, a colourful picture, Halloween this evening at Belgium, much familial festivity are here present, but your picture is very sharp and clear. Excellent seen!

wilkinsonsg (8662) 2004-10-30 7:50

Cute shot, I like the vibrant colours and the backround as well as the main image :)

kajenn (2462) 2004-10-30 13:50

Fun holiday, fun note and fun shot, Paul. Not one of your best compositions, but I understand that you wanted to include some of the town 'spirit' as backdrop too. This is showing a tradition to decorate the streets in a very colorful way for Halloween, which is unknown to me and most Europeans, I think. Although the 'trick or treat' part slowly is growing in Sweden, we're in no way near the US. Your capture of the young lady is very good, showing in detail what and how it's used for decoration. Well done!

nwoehnl (122) 2004-10-30 16:26

Hi Paul - fun shot of this pretty young lady ;-) Good colorful foreground details and nice "semi-shallow" DOF on the diagonal pavement towards the back. Yet another nice writing job on the note (I know I sound like a broken record).

Over here in Germany, Halloween was practically unrecognized as a holiday but over the last decade, a massive advertising hype was generated to "promote" it, and each year more and more related stuff keeps popping up. Fine with me, as I've always endorsed American popular culture, and have been familiar with the "great pumpkin" from Charles M. Schulz's priceless Peanuts comics :-)

robiuk (10807) 2004-10-30 17:07

And, Paul, what have you given her as a treat, you devil!? ;-D
When I first saw the photo it struck me as showing a shy girl (then I read your note).
Very good and unusual Halloween capture!
Is that a carrot in a role of her nose or something else (can tell from the 'spots')?

orme (7219) 2004-10-30 22:13

A good fun shot, Paul. So now you are doing portraits, heh! Nicely framed, with a good diagonal background. Great detail and texture. Well seen.

bpelvan (3798) 2004-10-31 1:25

There is no a halloween in my culture here in Turkey but I know a lot about The Halloween. I always found it so joyful, kids going door to door and picking up candies. We do also have this going-picking thing in one of our religious holiday.

This is a very good capture photo Paul. Very sharp and bright. Also her face is telling too many things (especially after reading your wonderful note).

Thanks for sharing and joyful moments you brought to us...

jrzufferey (7305) 2004-10-31 14:09 [Comment]

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nilolabrador (1469) 2004-10-31 14:48

Great portrait and ourstanding compo.
great colors too! Compliments.

phi729 (2101) 2004-11-01 19:56

Hi Paul :)

But, what does she say? Ok, Maybe She has the nose a little twisted. But with her dreadlocks and make-up, for a witch, she has a lot of charm. You can tell her, Paul ;) with the space given to the street in background, the shot is well-framed. No fault with the colors, DOF, and exposure too. But what gives life to this shot is your note of course. Really good and funny. Indeed, I am in agreement with Norbert (nwoehnl) about the recent return of this holiday in Europe and its symbolic in my mind. Already when I was student (92-96), this holiday was celebrated by a lot of students in the city of Lille (France). The difference between France and the United states (where it is a real institution), is the socialization of the holiday. In France, one disguises oneself in the streets, but not do door to door again. I always liked this Celtic celebration. Maybe because of my origins...

ma-tibou (4568) 2004-11-03 8:24

Bonjour Paul, voilà un personnage très original, de jolie couleurs , un joli graphisme, pour halloween, je supose.
Amitié/ Martine.

roconnell (327) 2004-11-08 2:27

Great capture of the Jack-O-Lantern tradition gone wild. Wonderful to see a very Mid-Western take of Holloween Festivities.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2004-11-09 9:12

I think this would scare away anything at night, very good focus and the angle too, good clothing but not so sure about the colours

Jeppe (18654) 2004-11-29 17:11

Oh - sorry I was a little busy so I just adde this to my theme - a nice "spooky" shot and funny note to follow. When I was a kid there were no tradition of celebrating Halloween - but now the tradition here as well - even its a bit to commercial after my taste - this year I diden't spot any "trick-or-treat" here around.

Thanks Paul for sharing.

cobraphil8 (84) 2005-08-02 8:07

All was known as on this photograph, I find it very quite made up very funny and... Original also. Well done

Photo Information

Copyright: Paul Mastrogiacomo (pamastro) (7296)
Genre: Lugares
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-10-24
Categories: Fiestas
Camera: Olympus C-5000, 38-114mm 1:2.8-4.8, Olympus xD Pic Card, Hoya Skylight (1B)
Exposición: f/4, 1/100 segundos
Versión de la foto: Versión original
Diario de viaje: A Ramble Across Michigan
Tema(s): Halloween [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-10-29 23:41
Favoritos: 1 [Ver]