A lot of families take photos on a regular basis, but one man and his son made it a point to take a photo in almost the same pose every year. I started out innocent and fun, and it became something they looked forward to every year.
After 27 years went by, the photos started to change, but they had no intention of stopping the tradition.
Tian Li was born in 1986. His father was thrilled to have a son, and when they took their first photo together, he decided that he wanted to take one every year. They only missed one year in the 27 years, and both were upset about it. Li explained:
“I spent more than half a year in 2014 in the U.S. My child was just born, so I couldn’t take him to go back home and visit my family. My father was busy at the time, so he couldn’t come to Beijing to visit me. It was a shame that we missed the photo for that year. But this is time, once you miss it, you really miss it.”
Li’s father was also upset that they missed a photo, but he is glad that they were able to get the others.
He hopes that their photos will help people realize how short life is and how easy it is to capture love in a photo. He said:
“This is the power of time. Time itself is a form of art. Perhaps this set of pictures represent a universal emotion and it’s straightforward, so people would resonate. That’s all.”
While the photos of the father and son stayed mostly the same throughout the years, they did have some slight changes.
In the beginning, the father is holding the son. As time goes on, the son starts to change positions and moves beside and then behind the father. In a few photos, they are on opposite sides of each other.
In 2014, a big change came. After missing a photo together, Li came back to see his father and had a surprise with him. He was bringing his son to be a part of the photo. Now, the men had a photo that showed three generations instead of two. It made up for missing the last photo.
Li said:
“This year my son also joined. This is the key in this picture. It brings the birth of one generation to another, and it can be the completion of one stage of life. Only when one reaches here does it mean his life is complete and meaningful.”
Now, Li plans to include his son in all the future photos with his father.
He knows that one day, there will come a time when his father is no longer in the photos. Then, it will be up to him and his son to carry on the tradition.
The photos made it to Reddit, where people were impressed and had a lot to say about the them. One user said:
“It is interesting as the son and father aged where the arms and hands gradually shift from the father protecting/comforting the son to the son protecting/comforting the father. At least that is how I perceived it. Great pictures, excellent idea.”
These photos are very special to Li, his father, and his son.
They not only show how they have grown and changed over the years but also the strength of their relationship. They clearly have a close bond and will always be there for each other.
Now that Li has a son of his own to include in the photos, he understands a little more why his father cared so much about taking them each year.
They have no plans of stopping this tradition anytime soon and are excited to share future photos with the world, too. This set of photos truly is amazing and special.
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