I work as a school librarian and one of my roles is grant writing because I’m good at it. (I funded our photography club’s new cameras with grants!)
This week’s theme is time, especially since with the start of school it feels like we’ve entered Phase 2 of the Pandemic. Which is fitting because this morning I worked on a grant, explaining why we are seeking funding to buy hotspots for students without internet access at home. I had to stop a moment after writing this sentence because it made me tear up: “Many of our students are low income and their families have suffered loss of income due to covid-related unemployment, and in some cases, their parents or guardians were lost to the virus.”
Here are two photographs I took early on in the pandemic:
March 24, 2020, Prospect Park, when the park seemed to explode with people. Xpro2.
March 27, 2020 outside the gates of the then-closed Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Xpro2
I do think photographs should have the attitude of: I SAID WHAT I SAID and not require text from the artist, which can be difficult since I’m a writer.
Here are the first and last of my Can’t Help Falling in Love photographs. Click through to see the entire series (didn’t want to hog your inbox).
April 1, 2020 outside the gates of the then-closed Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Xpro2
July 6, 2020 Outside the then-closed gates of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. iphone 8
As you can see, one way I marked time in the early days is this little ad for an Elvis figurine. But I won’t say more. The photographs said what they said.
In the back of Susan Sontag’s On Photography she has “A Brief Anthology of Quotations” all on photography. Here is Jasper Johns on the camera:
“An object that tells of the loss, destruction, disappearance of objects. Does not speak if itself. Tells of others. Will it include them?”
and Lewis Hine
“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug a camera.”
Until next time…
Adalena
I love to receive comments and questions about photography and cameras!
My email: adalenakavanagh@gmail.com
Instagram: @mamiyaroid (instant/film) @5redpandas (personal)
Twitter: @adalenakavanagh
Also, if you’re thinking of buying Polaroid film for the first time, here is my referral code, which gets you 10% off, and I get some reward points.
Original photography prints: adalenakavanagh.bigcartel.com (I change out the shop every month of so. If you see something you like, let me know, I’m happy to make you a print.)
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
-Adalena Kavanagh