Opening Day of Trout Season, Southaven County Park 1979

Curator: This photo, captured by Per Brandin, is titled "Opening Day of Trout Season, Southaven County Park." What’s your first take? Editor: It feels melancholic, strangely so. The gray tones and the kids' absorbed faces... it’s like childhood captured in a minor key. Curator: Brandin's focus on the ordinary—the everyday—elevates the simple act of fishing. He's isolating fleeting moments of youthful immersion. The angling rod creates a strong vertical axis, bisecting the frame. Editor: Yes, that verticality emphasizes the solitude, even within the group. It’s the line of hope, right? Casting out, waiting. But those boys seem more still than excited. Curator: Perhaps it's that liminal space between expectation and realization. The mirrored surface of the water extends their reflection in the landscape of the image. Editor: A very understated piece. It’s not shouting, is it? It's whispering about patience, and the quiet drama of waiting for a bite. Curator: Exactly. It makes me ponder the fleeting nature of these moments. I suspect Brandin invites us into this pensive state of reflection. Editor: A bit like watching a memory unfold... Thanks, it's given me a completely fresh way of seeing something so familiar.