First Presentation of NOW

My project proposal was narrowed down from a varied collection of random ideas to the concept of Now. And in doing so, I began the process of asking what defines Now and how it can be actualized photographically. I began with ambitious ideas that required a moderate to extensive level of production to execute effectively. I understand the process of production, and it's complexities. I've been responsible for many in the past. What I wanted to do for this class would have required a great deal more help and commitment from others than just myself. So as a back up, I looked at my current body of work for nuggets of Now. Dig and sift. And edit. And edit some more. 

What remained became a collection of important family moments over the last several years. Important LIFE moments, that brought people together to share.  I purposely grouped the collection with a common visual element. The unifying connection is touching; both emotionally touching and physically touching, another loved one. That connection, in this interpretation, provided a Now moment, and I needed to record it. Their Now moment became my Now moment. 

We exist in the Now.  If the past and future share the same horizontal plane, the present, the Now, perpendicularly splits the two perfectly in half.  The past has been consumed and distilled, while the future holds (nearly) unlimited possibilities. We have, to a certain degree, control of the Now. And being a photographer allows me the opportunity to capture the Now for myself and what I find important or valuable, and to share it with others. When I'm gone, my memories go with me. These photographs can remain behind, and hopefully be found as important and as valuable as I did.

The two most telling images of the series are of my father being greeted by my mother on his final morning, and my wife's grandmother being handed her sixth great-great grand daughter. Eunice Green was celebrating her 100th birthday, while my 83 year old father, Linus Strelecki, was preparing for his exit. 

I very rarely show any of my work to others I don't know personally. The class's evaluation of this collection provided an interesting perspective. This 3x3 collection was received as a Cycle of Life: Young and Old, Living and Dying. An overall narrative was present that I was unaware of, and thus gave added value to the work and frankly, my purpose for doing it.

What I learned from this initial presentation was: 1) keep my intro as brief as possible and let the work speak for itself. 2) Refine my proposal(s) more effectively and align it with the final deliverables. 3) I suck at writing. It's like pushing an anvil uphill. Maybe in time and with plenty of practice, I can more comfortably orchestrate my thoughts in writing.