Rain, Rain, Go Away

Lots of rain then.  Lots of rain now.  Lots. 

The year was 1979. I had  purchased my first SLR (Pentax K1000) and was in a photography class at Bellarmine College in Louisville.  Eager to practice what I was learning, I headed out with friends to The Great Balloon Race which kicks off the Kentucky Derby {cue  My Old Kentucky Home}.

But morning came early, and it was cold.  And it rained.  And rained.  And rained.

However, I watched and waited.  After a while the sun broke through and the balloons soared.  But before the sun, before the soaring, I noticed this lone little boy watching the giant balloon. 

This one child, standing in the cold rain, quietly watching the giant balloon come to life captured the mood, the feeling of those cold, gray, rainy early morning hours in which we all waited for the Rain, Rain [to] Go Away.

Upper left is the original print.  By today's High Def standards it lacks clarity, contrast, and pizzaz.  Bottom left has more pop, but it doesn't communicate the mood as well as the original - it's too clear, too cheerfully saturated with color.  A soft black and white was my favorite version.  This has an understated, classic feel.