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[Ari]

Hi,

I took these shots of my step-mother yesterday; my wife and I had a discussion on whether or not these photos told a story, enough of a story, or nothing at all.

Without any other information, what do you think?

Thanks in advance.

[djdister]

Hi,

I took these shots of my step-mother yesterday; my wife and I had a discussion on whether or not these photos told a story, enough of a story, or nothing at all.

Without any other information, what do you think?

Thanks in advance.

I think the photos suggest a lot, but one is not sure which direction they go...

[Scott --]

I think the two images together tell a very impactful story. To me. Whether I'm interpreting your intent correctly, I can't say. Individually, they're good photos. Together, they are powerful.

[Rank Amature]

Ari,
To me they tell a very full story, although the story for me, and perhaps for anyone who does not know your subject personally, is largely based on my experiences rather than hers for the most part. The story I conjure may have nothing to do with what you are trying to convey or the real truth behind what I see. When I see people with no hair, or people with no hair that I assume would normally have hair, I immediately think of losing both my daughter and sister to cancer this past year and what they looked like and what those experiences meant. Your portraits create a very deep storyline in my mind's eye, and one I sincerely hope is not true for your step-mother. What I see in your stepmother's eyes is the same courage and dignity I saw in my daughter's and sister's eyes. You images trigger years of memories for me, and I cant help but project that storyline onto the subject of your images. So I guess we all bring our own interpretations to any work we see, but bringing our stories back into memory in the first place requires powerful enough images to cause this to happen. These two photos do that. They are beautiful and dignified portraits that are bound to have a significant impact on any who see them. Thank you for sharing them.
Markham Starr

[Ari]

I think the photos suggest a lot, but one is not sure which direction they go...

I think the two images together tell a very impactful story. To me. Whether I'm interpreting your intent correctly, I can't say. Individually, they're good photos. Together, they are powerful.

Thank you both for your input; I appreciate it.

[Frank_E]

I would say the images tell a story.
Agree that the two images together make it more powerful.
So far no one has tried to articulate their version of what they believe the story to be, so I will go out on a limb and try.
the images definitely communicate emotion, well done

-she is not happy
-looks somewhat forlorn and alone
-very pensive, worried about the future (scared of the future?)
-most people who have lost their hair like this are in the midst of dealing with the side effects of chemo therapy to help treat cancer.
If that is the case it is consistent with her demeanour as communicated by the images.
-the vignetting and dark tones help communicate the idea of worry and foreboding
-the reflections in the water somewhat communicate that she is lost in another world

edit: "so far no one has tried to articulate their version of the story…at the time of my posting anyways…."

[Mark Sawyer]

I agree with what's been said so far. Loss of hair is very noticeable, and is very associated with health disorders, primarily cancer chemotherapy. That recalls stories, emotions, and relationships for those who have had someone close go through this, (and that's a lot of people these days). Without knowing the specifics of the stories you and your step-mother have to tell, people bring their own. That becomes part of the strength of the images.

[Ari]

Ari,
To me they tell a very full story, although the story for me, and perhaps for anyone who does not know your subject personally, is largely based on my experiences rather than hers for the most part. The story I conjure may have nothing to do with what you are trying to convey or the real truth behind what I see. When I see people with no hair, or people with no hair that I assume would normally have hair, I immediately think of losing both my daughter and sister to cancer this past year and what they looked like and what those experiences meant. Your portraits create a very deep storyline in my mind's eye, and one I sincerely hope is not true for your step-mother. What I see in your stepmother's eyes is the same courage and dignity I saw in my daughter's and sister's eyes. You images trigger years of memories for me, and I cant help but project that storyline onto the subject of your images. So I guess we all bring our own interpretations to any work we see, but bringing our stories back into memory in the first place requires powerful enough images to cause this to happen. These two photos do that. They are beautiful and dignified portraits that are bound to have a significant impact on any who see them. Thank you for sharing them.
Markham Starr

Markham,
I was very moved by what you wrote; as a father myself, I cannot imagine what you went through. That you are still here to talk about it is remarkable in itself.
I'm very sorry for both your losses.

As is probably evident, my step-mother has cancer; the good news is she is responding well to treatment, she is getting healthy again, and her prognosis is very good.
I suggested taking these photos not for now, but for a time in the future, when she would be 100% healthy; I would hope that seeing herself in these photos would be a reminder of her inner fortitude and to appreciate what she has.

My wife and I talked a little about the two photos, and she thought that while they were strong, they did not really reflect my step-mother's personality to any great degree.
I countered with a well-worn quote, one from Richard Avedon: "Every photo is accurate; none is the truth."
We went back and forth on that for a while.
Then we got into whether the casual observer would see the story in just these two photos; I was fairly certain it would be obvious; my wife was not in disagreement, but she was curious nonetheless.

Thank you for all your comments.

[Ari]

Without knowing the specifics of the stories you and your step-mother have to tell, people bring their own. That becomes part of the strength of the images.

I couldn't agree more with this; thanks, Mark.

[Peter Lewin]

Ari: Like the other posters, I do think your portraits, especially as a pair, are very strong. Not only did I respond to your mother-in-law as a probable cancer patient (i.e. the loss of hair, before you posted additional information), but in the first portrait I "read" the foreground puddle as echoing tears or sadness.

Your question about "telling a story" raises the question of how many photographs are really needed to portray a full story. What came to mind immediately was a book the documentary photographer Eugene Richards co-authored with Dorothy Lynch ("Exploding Into Life") in which he photographed Dorothy's fight with cancer. I think that in the sense of "story telling" you would have to approach the subject in a similarly documentary way, which implies many more photographs than we large-format types tend to produce. In that sense I think you have very effectively photographed a point a point in your mother-in-law's life, but perhaps not told a complete story. To give a specific example, from the two portraits we cannot tell whether treatment has been effective or not; a series of portraits as your mother-in-law recovers and her hair grows back, would "complete the story." (Since I tend to respond to posts on this forum in photographic terms, this time Nicholas Nixon comes to mind, as a large format photographer who has tracked his sister's lives over an extended period of time.)