For the semester-long project, I would like to focus on creating a book that tells the story of my family. Growing up my family was important to me and, as I’ve spent more time away from my family, I have discovered how unique my childhood was. Politically, I disagree with my parents on most issues, but I am always intrigued by the way they raised me. As a child, I hated their environmentally friendly practices, homegrown food, and holistic beliefs because of how different it made me among my peers. But now my parents’ lifestyle has become my lifestyle. I would like to create a photobook that evokes this simultaneous rejection and embrace of my family. My story is intimately connected to how I grew up though this isn’t the most obvious influence in my life.
This first decision I will need to make involves whether I will use a series of new photographs or existing family photos or a combination of the two. I also need to decide what perspective the story is being told through—my subjective perspective or a perspective that attempts to be more objective and removed. The photographs, regardless of which option I choose, will focus on the place of my family, the people of my family, our activities, relationships, and individual stories. I may need to isolate a more specific focus in order to provide a more concise book. This may lead me to include primarily photographs of my parents or my siblings or of our home.
The sequence of the book may be chronological, placing photographs in the order they were taken in order to show the passing of time and the growth of the people. I am also considering a sequence which highlights the passing of seasons—sections of photographs from summer, fall, winter, and spring that juxtapose photographs from different years. I think this option would show the cyclic nature of our lives and subvert the concept of constant progression forward. It would be interesting to try to promote the idea that as a family we all have a consciousness of ourselves and each other at many times in the past. The family is a dynamic whole, changing with time but always aware of what was.
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this weekend I got all of my family photos from home and have been looking over them and scanning some. im playing with photographing my family members in pictures that mimic the older ones, whether in location or in pose. there are a lot of pictures that are at our house. i like centering the book around the physical location of the house.
ReplyDeleteThe World from My Front Porch.
ReplyDeletePhotographs by Larry Towell.
Chris Boot, London, 2008. 224 pp.,
Publisher's Description
Selected from twenty years' worth of photographs by award-winning Magnum member Larry Towell, The World From My Front Porch is a collection of photographs of family life in northern Ontario-a romantic and beautiful rural idyll. This photo-essay is at the heart of a book that also, in separate sections of albums and found objects, explores both the history of Towell's front porch and his outside journeys into the war zones of the world. Themes of land and belonging are woven together in an extensive autobiographical essay. The book is dramatically designed in the manner of an Edwardian album and accompanies retrospective exhibition touring the United States and Canada
The Mother of All Journeys
ReplyDeleteThis is a journey from China to England; it is a reflection on identity and the passage of time. Dinu Li traces his family's journey from rural China, via Hong Kong, to the industrial north of England. Inspired by the memories of Li's mother, the story is told through photographs, personal recollections, and family snapshots.
About the Author
Dinu Li is a British Chinese photographer. He has exhibited mainly within the UK but also in China. This is his fourth book. (Previous books Bohemia; Ten Thousand Li; As I Were A River: Immaculate Drowning.)
http://www.lodimapress.com/html/nicholas_nixon.html
ReplyDeleteHome by Nicholas Nixon
Im thinking about working with images of my family, mostly at our home, and taking portraits today of them in similar places, poses, and expressions. The images would mirror each other on the page but reflect the passage of time and the continuity between the past and present.
ReplyDeleteI've started scanning photographs and editing them. I'm scanning at 800 dpi. mostly im increasing the saturation and removing dust. i kid of like some of the dust though. it might be neat to explore doing the current portraits in a way that may them look timeless-- black and white, high contrast. the images im working with so far are in places in and around the home that can be used to create a conversation between the past and present.
ReplyDeleteafter taking a few photographs over break and scanning a lot yesterday, im feeling more on track. i didn't get a lot of great shots and wasn't feeling super inspired, but now im excited to photograph my family in less-contrived ways. i want to mimic some photographs (one i took of my brother worked well!) but i also want to focus on furniture and places around the physical home. i've played with a few layouts and im kind of drawn to a combination of black and white and color images or muted and saturated images. i really like the way this looks when the present image is black and white and the old one is color--it kind of confuses the mind since we associate black and white with older images.
ReplyDeleteim still struggling with figuring out sequence. i have more ideas for spreads that focus on single people or elements, but i don't quite have a narrative or an element that provides tension. ive considered working with some sort of idea of the innocence of the past, but i don't want to present the idea that the present is corrupted, maybe more like a sadness in the present. a sort of disconnect as people grow and the place changes.