Smithsonian.com

The child is almost irrelevant to the picture since the eye is drawn to the wonderful contrasts of geometric shapes.

Ah, the "Americana" category - where we gaze not at our actual navel but at the navel we wish we had. And often at the one we wish we had had. I like this picture because there is enough of that navel showing (the tepees) to satisfy our Romantic bent but here we also see a modern, human, kid. He's not a Noble Savage or some other essentialized brown person but a REAL person. A kid with a ball. This photo has just the right mix of reality and romance.

Past vs present. Shape vs color

Since I have an Indian background, I am drawn to this picture. I get a totally diffent view of this picture. The ball in the picture represents some object in the sky and the child is reaching out for it. The teepee's are awesome. I like the earth tone colors in the picture. Great picture!!!

This picture has a great meaning for me as a South Dakotan. The boy in this picture is caught in a moment of fun, where life looks simple. His Native American background is poetically symbolized by the beautiful teepees. His face is upturned and his arms raised almost spiritually to the sky. Knowing the problems kids face on the reservation, I wish their lives could always be so simple and beautiful.

Somehow you can almost feel America's beauty and sadness all in this one picture. Maybe it's just because I lived by an Indian reservation and know something of the plight of the original Americans -- but this little boy, reaching for the heavens while rooted by his family's past just touches my heart and soul. I absolutely love the lad.

The tipi, artifact of a once-mobile people, serves as the backdrop for a young boy whose future is up in the air.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to allow our children (all) to be free of the everyday things adults must deal with and not pass them on to the child prior to their ability to cope. And give the adults the vision to pass the best forward.

Simplicity is the word for this photo, and the simpler a photo looks to the viewer the more skill it took to shoot it. We wish life could remain simple for the young boy, and for all of us. This photo offers that promise ... simplicity for the day at least. And can anyone expect more?

It took me several times of looking at this picture to realize that the shape in the sky was not the most interesting shade of a setting sun.....and then I finally read the name for the picture and realized it was a basketball! What beautiful composition and contrasting images.....

In the true spirit of South Dakota and America, this photo shows the hope that all people from all backgrounds will reach for and live in a world of peace.

I love the way the basketball looks like the setting sun or the moon in the sky. The colors are gorgeous as the sun is getting ready to set and is casting a red glow on everything. The sticks from the tipi add such a contrast to the round ball. This is an amazing photo!

kinda of like a yin and yang kinda thing going on here , past and present, and we see our spirit in that child. we as older persons always reflect back to when we were this innocent, sometimes we can barely remember the colors of a sun set , is it setting or could it be rising ? is the boy being lifted or crashing back to this earth ? a ball ? I see a world, a place where we always want to be, when this world we live in is too much, we remember .... and it is just out of our reach , but we keep grasping, we come bounding back to earth and when we muster the strength once again we leap for our time in the sun.. when all that matter was a boy and his ball the tee pees , they show us where we have been and we decide where we are going, but we can close our eyes and " ache " and " yearn " for this special time in our very own lives. timeless... as frybread and bean soup .. awesome as a fancy shawl dancer , if we could freeze her in mid air , funny how at the powwow we can still hear the crickets and birds and our kids laughing or crying above all the sweet sounds of summer and drums and tee pees... the eagles are circling above this pic.. the old ones are watching over us.. bringing our prayers to the heavens.. thank you

A perfect example of being at the right place at the right time. Fabulous composition, colors, message. Way to go, Bernie!

This picture is a picture of the old and the new. I really enjoy the color and contrast of the picture. And how tall and straight the teepees are and how the young one is holding up his hands to the sky, make it look like he praising and thanking for a great day.

We see in a picture, all we need to see. The young boy, playing with abandon, reaches for the heavens with a plea that might have come from any culture, race or age. The simplicity of the setting, the marvelous contrast of geometric shapes and the unspoken plea of the boy embrace the circle of all human beings. Our humanity draws us together and personifies our common longing for eternal love and forgiveness.

Simple and beautiful

It would take someone with the experiences and sensitivities of Bernie Hunhoff to recognize the beauty of this moment and capture it forever. But, for those of us who are lucky enough to know Bernie, the occurrence isn't unexpected or rare. He does this kind of work all the time!

"Fun is good" a friend of mine often says. It's his reminder to adults not to forget the magic we had in our youth. And, here a modern day child at play in this ancient setting is a reminder of the generations of children throughout time at play. Don't you feel those warm brown and muted blue tones? So simple. An honest portrayal of the common cultural needs we share. Fun is so very good.

Cultural at its simplicity

This is a Bernie Hunhoff type picture. He captures the today child with a basketball, and captures the tepee as the symbol of the prairie past.

So this is how the moon got in the sky!

Peaceful, beautiful composition,and color. Your eye is drawn to Heaven!!

I love how the lack of color and use of geometric shape simplifies the picture without making it any less beautiful.