Guardian and Child

My name is Theo Miller, and my piece is titled Guardian and Child. This photo was taken with a
Canon EOS Rebel T7 camera at Graceland Cemetery.
This photograph captures a close-up detail of a weathered stone memorial: an adult figure, the
Guardian, cradles its child in its arms. The photo is shot from a low angle and centers on the
child's bare foot resting in the crook of the guardian's arm, drawing the eye to the intimacy of the
gesture before you even register the faces.
The stone is heavily pitted and speckled with age, and its texture is as much the subject as the
figures themselves. Deep folds of carved drapery fall in long lines through the lower frame,
contrasting with the smoother curves of the limbs. Behind the figures, a dense screen of oak
leaves dissolves into soft, bokeh-heavy light, isolating the sculpture from its surroundings, and
gives the photo a sense of being tucked into a quiet part of the cemetery.
Shooting in Black and White was a deliberate choice to emphasize the texture and the
sculptural form, which wouldn’t have looked as striking if it were in color. The goal was to let the
sculpture read as a quiet, intimate moment between two figures, rather than having it just
appear as a static monument most visitors of the cemetery would walk past without a second
glance.