Last week I was crossing a bridge in Tbilisi, Georgia, and stopped to look at the photos exhibited there. One set especially moved me — photos of fathers and sons holding hands. I thought you might like them, too. The Father and Son Project by Bulgarian Valery Poshtarov "extends beyond the realm of photography. It is a celebration of heritage, an intimate dialogue bridging generations, challenging traditional masculinity and revealing the power of emotional openness.”

You can see more of these lovely photos of Eastern European male bonding at the photographer’s website. And, here’s a sense of why he created this project:

‍As a father of two growing boys, I've come to realise how quickly the day will arrive when they will no longer need me to hold their hands on the way to school. Inspired by this thought, I initially set out to photograph my 95-year-old grandfather and my father holding hands. The project soon evolved into something much larger than I had anticipated.

‍In a world that is already growing apart, holding hands becomes a silent prayer, a way to come together again. While posing, fathers and sons hold hands for the first time in years, sometimes decades. It's a powerful moment, often filled with hesitation or even resistance, that reveals the universal appeal of connection, legacy, and vulnerability in our human experience. The essence of the project lies in this intimate act, the photos standing as a witness to the profound, yet often unspoken, love between fathers and sons.

‍Spanning diverse cultures, reaching corners of 9 countries, “Father and Son” highlights the singularity of identity shaped by family and cultural heritage. In these interactions, we see individual identities emerging within shared familial narratives, illustrating how deeply personal and culturally influenced our life paths are. By leaving the narratives behind these portraits open to interpretation, I invite viewers to add their own layers of meaning, making us all contributors to this evolving story of humanity.

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My 86-year-old dad and I decided to get into the act on my recent visit to my parents’ home. It was a strange but comforting experience and made me appreciate all the times I tell my parents I love them.

Men, if your father (or son) is still alive, are you open to this experience?

-Chip