Just to give you an insight into what goes into the planning, organisation and production of a photographic project of mine, and to give it an emotional and personal aspect. Here is just one such example.
For the Remembrance Series Project I placed adverts in the local media requisitioning the loan of various items of WWII memorabilia so that I could photograph these then return them to their rightful owner.
In the case of the image that features the letter of commendation awarded to a Colour Sergeant in the King's Own Scottish Borderer's Regiment, which was signed by Field Marshall Montgomery himself. Which on this blog is entitled 'From Monty'. The original letter was a little worse for wear so I got a friend to scan it and clean it up in Photo shop and print out another copy for the lady who loaned me it, she was the widow of the soldier in question.
When I took her this and a 12" x 16" selenium toned fibre based print of the finished image she was overcome with emotion. Because at the time I was a full-time mature student she insisted on paying me for the print, which she need not have done. Because she along with all the other kind people who loaned me items to photograph for this assignment and project assisted me far greater than they ever realised.
It is nice now and again to help people and get a positive response from your photography. Many of this generation have hundreds if not thousands of my prints and photographs, it is the least I could do for what they all did for us all in the dark days of the Second World War. Besides they are fading away at an alarming rate, so when you see an elderly man shuffling slowly down the street he was perhaps once a front-line Infantry soldier who fought in the Desert and then landed on the beaches of Normandy on the 6th June 1944.
In my own personal opinion we owe this generation a great deal, yet sadly we as a society do not give them the credit, support and assistance that they so rightly deserve.
No comments:
Post a Comment