It's hard to say what the draw is for me about pictures showing people from the back. I've seen them, and taken them myself, as the person is sitting with their back to me, or caught walking away. I guess the plus is that they are not posing, and sometimes unaware that they are on camera.
But in particular, when it comes to children, there is something mystical about it...at least for me. I don't know how other people feel; no one has ever mentioned it to me.
One day I was visiting Plymouth, MA and saw a mother sitting on a bench with her two little kids, one on each side of her. I simply took their picture because it was so appealing. I didn't ask their permission, I just did it. It was charming and meant so much. I did ask the mother if she would like me to send her the picture I had just taken. She gave me her email address and I sent it to her, after which she thanked me via email.
In the above pictures, I see my grandsons not just walking, but walking away. Walking right into their future selves, happily strolling forward to lives unknown to us.
Maybe it's because I'm getting older (72) but I also see them in these pictures as walking away from me. Not away from my love, but physically walking away towards their future grown up selves, leaving me behind to feel the loss, but also the pride and thankfulness that overwhelms me as I watch them go.
