A Star Is Born….
I’ve always found photography to be fascinating. Now, believe me, it’s not because I am a photographer by any sense of the term. I am the person who always catches my ‘photo models’ in awkward poses and with frightening looks on their faces. As a matter of fact, I’ve decapitated family and friends more than once with my photography skills. So, I am definitely not a pro – or even a novice. I am basically a ‘photographer loser.’
That being said, I haven’t stopped trying! I am following the ranks of some specular people who have failed – before succeeding!
J.K Rowling – 12 major publishers rejected Harry Potter before a small publishing company picked it up. Today, Rowling is a lowly billionaire with the sale of over 400 million books to date.
Bill Gates – designed a machine to process data, which flopped practically before it started. But practice makes perfect and Gates is now known as a computer genius.
Colonel Sanders – at the ripe old age of 50, he created a finger lickin’ good chicken recipe, which he sold for $2 million in 1964 at the age of 74. Certainly nothing to cluck at!
So, with these successes to consider, I decided that it’s never too late and that maybe I could make a go at photography – even after 40+ years of failure. So, with grandmunchkins in mind, I decided to become their professional photographer. My son and daughter-in-law were so thrilled and couldn’t wait for the outcome. It was an exciting adventure – catching my grandkids in the most perfect of unplanned poses. I knew that my photographer-gifting would emerge, and I would definitely become a photo genius!
A famous quote from Richelle Goodrich, author of Smile Away, states: “You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it’s enough. It takes just one start to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.” I knew it was time to give it a try, because I was ready for stardom!
Well, it didn’t quite work as I had hoped. (I think maybe I was supposed to wash faces first before doing the professional photography.) So many things to think about as a pro…
According to the SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods, visual ethnography uses photography, motion pictures, hypermedia, the web, interactive CD’s, CD-ROMS, and virtual reality as ways of capturing and expressing perceptions and social realities of people.
So, to say it mildly, after my failed endeavors at photography, I appreciated Pink’s book, Doing Visual Ethnography. Pink explained that “images are everywhere” and bring value to our lives. Pink noted: “When ethnographers produce photographs or video, these visual texts, as well as the experience of producing them and discussing them, become a part of their ethnographic knowledge.”[1] This is a powerful explanation of the importance of integrating visual ethnography into our lives – good or not so good. The author shared that “ethnography images are as inevitable as sounds, smells, textures and tastes, words or other aspects of culture and society.”[2]
I especially appreciated Part 3 – Visual Images and Technologies. Pink explained that “when a photograph is situated in the present tense and is treated as a realist representation, a particular relationship between the text, the image and the ethnographic context is constructed.” The author went on to explain: “It becomes a photograph that could be taken any time, a generalized representation of an activity or type of person.”[3] I completely agree with this. As a Hospice Chaplain, I always ask that family members bring in photos of the patient who is at the end of their life. I have found that photos from the past help to bring a patient ‘alive in the present’ versus seeing only an elderly person lying in bed as their life seeps away. There is a great power in pictures from the past!
So, although I may never become a great photographer, I certainly value imagery and the power it holds. The author shared that when an old photo is brought to the present, the past is forgotten. “The specificity of the photographic moment, set in the past, is lost and instead the photograph is situated in the continuous present.”[4] I believe that this is the power of photographs. It is not the time period that it was taken that makes it important. What makes it important is that it brings the past into the present.
And, because of that, I will continue to utilize photography as a means of visual ethnology. And, with that in mind, I present myself to you as a PHOTOGRAPHY STAR! (NOT!)
[1] Sarah Pink, Doing Visual Ethnography (London: Sage Publications, 2013), 21.
[2] Ibid, 22.
[3] Ibid, 150.
[4] Ibid, 151.
About the Author
Nancy VanderRoest
Nancy is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and fulfills God's calling on her life by serving as a Chaplain & Counselor with Hospice. In her spare time, Nancy works with the anti-human trafficking coalition in her local community.16 responses to “A Star Is Born….”
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Excellent post, Nancy! What a beautiful depiction of visual ethnography through the two photos of past and present and how you use the past photos with your patients. What our eyes behold certainly shapes our perspective. Perception is reality!
Thanks so much, Tammy. Yes, I truly believe that perception is reality, because our perceptions create our view. And if we don’t know the stories behind the elderly, all we might see is a little old person lying in a hospital bed. But when you see them truly ‘alive’ in younger pics, you get a glimmer of their personalities and it helps to open some light into the fact that they are more than just a patient lying in a bed!
Nancy, I love the pictures of your grandchildren and the fact that they aren’t perfect, showing children as they are, messy and not perfect little angels. This also shows children through the challenges they pose to their parents. I also love the pictures of the older people looking at their younger selves. My mother having dementia saw a picture I had of her in her twenties. She recognized the picture and wanted to take it from me and did not know why I had it. I do think that people suffering from memory issues can benefit from visual ethnography keeping them connected to this world in some small way. Blessings for all you are doing with this population.
Hi Mary. Thanks for responding to my post. Yup, I’ve never been a good picture- taker. But at least I show some personality in the pics I take! Lol. And I agree with you that it’s so positive when a person with dementia can recognize themselves in a picture. Often, it is only their distant past that they can remember. So pictures are important – both for the patient and the caregivers. So sorry about your mom. I remember you telling me about her dementia. It’s an evil disease. I will pray for her – and for you, my friend!
You have some lucky grandchildren, Nancy! The images from your patients past must be so powerful. Often the images on the bulletin . . . or enlarged and placed on an easel . . . at the funerals I officiate are of someone when they are in there 20’s or 30’s.
Uniquely, I recently officiated a funeral for a couple who had died five years apart. Marie died five years ago, and Albert died just this past summer. They had been married for 53 years. They wanted to have a joint funeral and so I officiated one for them both, a few weeks after Albert died. However, instead of an image of them early in their relationship, the image on the cover of the bulletin was taken of them in a loving embrace just a few days before Marie died. It was an incredible juxtaposition of the social norm, and was a testament to their true love together.
This experience was rare (at least in my immediate context, and having officiated funerals for 14 years) but was very powerful.
Hi Jacob. The funeral you officiated at sounds precious! I think that visual images of when people are young bring so much of a person’s personality into view – whether it is a patient in Hospice or at a funeral. I know that at the end of life, people are often so depleted of their personalities, so it’s great seeing pics of them when they were truly enjoying life in their younger years. But I love that at the funeral you officiated, the couple wanted a current picture displayed. I love the magic of that final pic of their lives together.
Nancey,
Thanks as always for your cheerful disposition and thought-provoking insights. Yes, I can see how family photos are probably the most precious treasures for those in the final days of life. Thanks so much for sharing from your rich experiences. Blessings, H
Thanks for responding to my post, Harry. Yes, working with Hospice patients at the end of life doesn’t provide a ‘personality glimpse’ of who the person is for the caregivers (nurses, chaplains, etc.) Yet, pictures of when they were truly enjoying life bring so much of who that person was into view. I always request pics, so that I don’t look at my patients as ‘just patients,’ but instead as people who loved life and were treasured by others in return.
Nancy – I loved the combination of your humor and your seriousness in this post. The humor about your own photography skills is so welcome, but you also never underestimated the seriousness of the power of visual ethnography. I think being able to offer individuals photos of themselves and their family members in their last days is such a powerful ministry opportunity! It’s something that people rarely do, as they don’t want to remember loved ones that way, but I do believe it also helps people in the transition. I never got to see any photos of my grandmother as she was transitioning out of this life. While I love remembering her as I knew her, part of me is sad that I didn’t get to see her as she was in her final days. I think it would have helped my transition more. Thanks for the work you did in this post.
Hi Karen. Thanks for your response. Yes, this post was a little tricky, as it took me hours to figure out how to load a picture in my document. A computer tech – I am not! lol. But I appreciated your comments. Sorry you didn’t get to see your grandmother as she transitioned. There is closure in sitting with people at the end of life and holding their hand and watching them as they leave this earth towards Heaven. It is powerful! I really feel privileged to serve in my role as a Hospice Chaplain!
Hi Nancy. Lovely post and thank for sharing the pictures of your family. I enjoy images connected with story line. The two together form a strong emotional connection between information and human experience. From experience I have found this to be positive and negative. Perceptions are very powerful, and can be very wrong. I guess that’s where very clear explanation with and of images is important. That being the case, I’m looking forward to having a go at VE in the next few weeks. Well done.
Thanks for the response, Digby. I appreciate knowing that my post brought with it some human experience. I agree that perceptions can be very wrong at times. In my counseling world, I am always working against skewed perceptions. But some perceptions are positive and bring great strength and reflection. Blessings to you, my friend.
Wow! The “great photographer.” Nancy you always bless me with your reflections all through. I am encouraged by your write up on being persistence and never giving when determined in doing something however long it takes. Your determ,inactions in being a good photographer of the year. I know you will one day enter into the photographically contest in the your State. You such an encouragement and when I read your write upon i just glaze in laughter.
Hi John. Thanks for your response. Glad I can bring some laughter your way. Laughter is ALWAYS a positive in life! Thanks for your faith in my photography, John. Glad someone has faith in my skills! lol. Blessings to you, my friend.
Nancy,
I believe you and my mom were cut from the same cloth. She is an expert executor of the gullotine photo moments. She also is able to capture pictures that speaks natural exuberance and moments of my sons’ childhood that was unprepared shenanigans. Besides beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Love the heart behind the photographer. In my book you are a Life Photography Star!
Thanks so much, Shermika. I love the title “Life Photography Star.” It makes my lousy photography skills have meaning! lol. It’s funny, because I think in my family, poor photography skills are generational. My mom was not talented with a camera either – just as your mom. Hope it didn’t pass down to you. I certainly succeeded in no photography talent, but I’m hanging onto the title of “Life Photo Star!” Thanks, Shermika!