I recently joined a monthly photo gathering called the Photo Union at one of my favorite places, The Minneapolis Photo Center. This class unites photographers of all types to help stretch our creativity and how we bring it to life in print. As a person that frequently speaks in exclamation point, I can’t help but gush when I encounter something that I love. And I love these photo meetings. Gushing commencing.
Our first session explored what we love about photography, what we love to photograph, and what single word represents what we’re taking photos of, right now. My word? Childhood.
The twist came with our assignment: Take photos of your subject, without actually having your subject in your photo. DUNH DUNH DUNH
But almost immediately, ideas came to mind. I could photograph my girls’ room, in all of its girly glory. I could photograph what happens after a winter Saturday afternoon spent hanging out in our living room. I could photograph playthings all brightly lit, showing a youthful optimism. You get the idea and I set out to get the picture(s).
I included a benchmark image that showed some of my usual work. I love this photo because, to me, it captures something so childlike in such a naturally artful kind of way. For others, the attraction comes from a mysterious subject and from the study in colors, contrasts, and tiny details. It’s a photo of my youngest daughter going up a slide. This is a characteristic of her play at the park, something we don’t do very often anymore because her older sibling is too cool for school. And the park. But one day, last summer, we had a rare night with just the two of us. Sophie played in all her 8 year old glory and I got to watch (and photograph) it all.
When I look at this photo, I see that day. When others look at this photo, they don’t have that perspective so the photo represents something else.
When I reviewed the images below, I felt like a piece of that childlike optimism or spark that I try so hard to capture was missing. But thinking about it more, I think that’s because my usual subjects were behind the scenes with me instead of in front of the camera, as usual. These photos still capture a story, reflect a memory, and show elements of being a kid they just do it in a different way than I am used to. Which was precisely the point of the exercise.
So, this is what I ended up with, after careful editing of my 20+ images. A study in what it’s like to be a kid and more importantly, critical facets of childhood.
.jpg "Comfort")
Friendship
.jpg)
Gamesmanship
.jpg)
Make Believe
.jpg)
Creativity