My initial concept for unit three was to research several Music Photographers in order to produce a series of images depicting several Musicians and bands. This idea was influenced by previous work I had done reflecting on self expression within music and dance. In this project the aim was to change my approach when photographing musicians and adopt more of a Photo-journalistic and Commercial style. I planned on achieving this by producing a photographic insight into three separate Musicians combining three different styles of photography, Portraiture, Environmental Portraiture and Performance. I had spoken with several musicians including a friends bad, Tom Byrne and friends and arranged to spend time with them during rehearsals and live performances producing my images. Unfortunately late in to this research project my girlfriends dad who suffers from Cancer took a turn for the worst. She has to look after him alone with little family support so I have been devoting a lot of time to being there in support. This meant that I wouldn't be able to follow through with my original plans for unit three. Through discussing these issues with my tutor and Ciara I came to the decision of basing my project around my current experience.
When originally researching my subject matter I came across quite a few relevant Photographers and albums. One of them from a photojournalist I was already looking into during unit three. Jared Polin, best known for his Fro knows photo website and youtube channel is a photojournalist, who mostly covers concert, tour and music photography. When his mum was diagnosed with cancer his reaction was to pick up his camera and start documenting. What he produced was an album of moving images titled, "Mom's Fight". The images document all elements of his mothers battle with cancer, portraying the hard realities of suffering with such a disease as well as more positive moments such as time spent laughing, enjoying the company of friends and family.
On his blog Polin speaks about regrets, "We all have regrets, though they never will go away you must learn from them and change" [1] his mum was a promising photographer and he regrets being to busy and not spending time with her teaching her his skills. To me he seems quite angry with himself for not being there. He does go on to say how those regrets and anger are one of the main reasons that lead him to setting up his website so that he can help other people learn, as he missed that opportunity with his mother.
Another relevant bit of research that I came across was Soulumination. Soulumination are a non-profit organization that provide professional portraits for families who are dealing terminal illnesses. The organisation was set up by photographer, Lynette Huffman Johnson after she was asked to photograph her stillborn niece, Lanie. Lynette said it was the memories of Lanie as well as similar cases close to her heart that inspired her to form Soulumination. Since its conception in 2005 the non-profit public organization has grown in popularity, with over 40 professional photographers volunteering their time and skills to produce: "Professional photographs, free of charge, as an enduring, positive record of the childs life, and as a loving legacy for the children of parents lost to terminal illness."[2] These images are powerfully emotive, they express and signify our capacities for love and compassion and how those elements of the human condition help to serve and aid those who are suffering.
When watching ciara stroke and kiss her dads head his expression no longer looks pained and worried, but calm and peaceful. Having such memories documented is a positive way to look back and remember that the life may have been lost but the love, compassion and memories never go away.
In Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag (2003) Sontang states; “Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question of what to do with the feelings that have been aroused, the knowledge that has been communicated. If one feels that there is nothing 'we' can do -- but who is that 'we'? -- and nothing 'they' can do either -- and who are 'they' -- then one starts to get bored, cynical, apathetic.” Essentially what she is saying is Images that contain the pain and suffering of others don’t engage with viewers because they universalize such experiences. However, she also mentions that narrative texts and longer portfolios of images are more likely to strike a chord with the viewer and lead them to take some kind of positive action rather than consuming the information passively.
I think the supporting blog entries and extensive nature of images Polin uses give the series more of a capacity for lessons to be taken from it. To me, "Mums Fight" signifies to me enjoying the precious time you have and share anything you can with your loved ones. I think Jared's album is a realistic representation of what it is to suffer from terminal illness, he doesn't shy away from documenting and including the suffering and hard realities faced when dealing with cancer. I like how his series shows a balanced account of his experience, highlighting both negative and positive elements, not giving superior relevance to one over another. I will have this in mind when producing my own images during unit 4. In conclusion my research has certainly helped me in refining my understanding of how to approach and execute my concept practically during unit 4.
Bibliography:
Jared polin, 2010, http://froknowsphoto.com/the-reason-for-the-hair-and-web-site/ [1]
Soulumination, 05/14 http://www.soulumination.org/index.php/site/about [2]
Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag (2003) [3]
