Contest #1: Photo Representative

Ok, so this is my entry below for Contest #1 (Picture contest).

- It's a little bit squished together for some reason, but I guess that's ok. -

The picture itself is for the book,  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

I actually doodled down on a piece of paper as soon as I heard about the contest. I'd been wanting to do something like this for quite some time, and this gave me an excuse to do so.

-This is my little doodle -

Finding a tree was the easy part, the 'roots'...not so much.
Let me tell you, I HATE spirals.
I spent a good hour and a half on my knees, in the sun, drawing spirals on the concrete with chalk. My vision got pretty blurry half way through. Dedication.

Right. I'm babbling.
I should probably tell you the actual idea behind this picture.

Firstly, here's a summary from Goodreads:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
"The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience."

This book is one of my favorites of all time, I now own it, and I happily re-read it this summer.
Throughout the story, you get to witness the growth of the remarkable, intelligent and beautiful little dreamer, Francie Nolan. You get to watch as she grows as a person, develops relationships with those around her and slowly moves towards her dream.

The tree in the picture mirrors the tree in the book. In Francie's poverty-stricken neighborhood, a tree stands tall, without light or water, yet it perseveres. This tree represents her hardships as a poor child, yet like the tree, she continues to grow. I wanted to capture this by taking the tree, giving it no light (thus the gray) and making it seem undesirable, but giving the roots underneath life, light and color (thus the chalk).

In the end, I think I'm happy with how the picture turned out (even if it's squished). :)