I’ve known Tavi since I was 3. We grew up in the same area, have many of the same interests, went to the same college, and have walked the same walk to class for 2 years from our apartment to campus.
In trying to illustrate how unique perspectives are represented in photo albums, I sent Tavi out on the task of photographing her walk to class, and I did the same.
The pictures follow, with a short bios.
Tavi, an artistic Art History Major. painter.
Alison an artistic American Studies major. leans toward photography.
From the two sets of photos, it is hard to even tell that it is the same path. We took pictures of the same areas, but in different ways. Tavi’s photos look up and down, while my photos stay at a largely static level. We are both conscious of composition, but use the framing of our photos in different ways.
In this way, we construct two different documents of what the same path looks like. Within the distance from point A to B, there are dozens of small variations, thousands of things to see. A series of photos cannot capture the entirity of this walk, but it does show what each of us as individuals draw from it, what we saw.
Albums function in the same way. We can’t gain a comprehensive vision and fully understand what the experience of walking, or being in a family is like, but we can see at least what a group drew from it, what they saw was significant. Whats worthy of record. What will stand as an icon of family.
Photo albums serve as one portal into these ideas, but one that seems to be fading fast. The ever expanding world of digital photography and digital photos present new ways of telling ones story. And I don’t know myself if this increase in access provides a more or less telling picture of a life.
So, I encourage you to look inward, then out. How do you see whats around you? Where do your stakes lie? What kind of narrative are you living, and how will you leave that behind?