I think all photographers know that choices dominate our practice. The versatility of modern camera’s have removed many historical constraints of the old technology and offer us more choice in how to shoot than those who went before. But this brings its own challenges: what to shoot is only part of the problem; how to shoot and process any image offers us almost infinite choice. For example, today’s image could have been of dad coping at home alone, or of mum’s empty chair standing in as a symbol of mum no longer here, or of her personal items Karen and Greg brought back from the hospice. These are just some of the choices to be made without even considering whether it should be for example tightly or loosely framed, soft or sharp, monochrome or colour, colour popped or graphically enhanced.
It is with this in mind that I chose to present today’s photo as a diptych. This was not planned beforehand, but when I saw the photos together in Lightroom they immediately resonated both in terms of documentary narrative and in speaking a little to how I feel. While most of my day was spent on administration and being with dad, the explosion of colour that is mum’s front garden stands witness to her life and in contrast to the dry/grey administration that formally recognises its passing.
anomiepete 