APS Behind the Lens: Moving on

I have been privileged to photograph Jane, a kind and generous, elderly widow who lives alone, and struggles with mobility but is fiercely independent.

Spending time with Jane provided an insight into her emotions as she aged. I wanted to reveal my understanding of these emotions in a series of carefully constructed images.

Only one of these images is presented in this article but it is important to see this image as a part of a wider set that builds a balanced perspective.

My first image of Jane was taken as she was overcoming her reluctance to use a mobility aid. It captured only the shadows of Jane and the walker crossing the street. Another image was designed to highlight Jane’s stubborn streak by depicting her painting the laundry wall, roller in hand with the paint tray resting on her walker. I showed her social side and capacity for joy by photographing her looking confident, focused and determined as she dealt the cards at her social club, and in response to her dislike of Brisbane’s summer heat, I captured Jane seated, washer on her forehead in front of an old pedestal fan whilst cooling her feet in a basin of water.

At times Jane showed frustration with the effects of aging and impatience with life. I could see her struggling to find purpose and joy against a backdrop of pain and weariness. In this image Moving on, I set out to capture these feelings of being less mobile, alone and waiting.

I positioned Jane seated on her walker at night in front of a large shopping centre block wall. Beside her, I put an old suitcase to represent the few possessions she had retained from times past. I placed Jane towards the edge of the image to allow the wall’s negative space to convey a sense of the unknown and solitude.

My car headlights 25 metres away lit her from the side. I positioned the camera on a tripod close to the wall to maximise the available light, controlling the capture through my iPad. A low ISO reduced highlights and created cleaner shadows.

Moving on is my darkest image of Jane and whilst it represents an element of Jane’s emotional response to aging, I continue to see her bounce back to embrace life and those around her.

My most recent image of Jane has her sitting in bed nursing a wooden breakfast tray containing a cup of tea and an egg cup. Light is streaming in from the side, and she is smiling.

I converted all the images to monochrome using Nik Silver Efex as this gave a more timeless impression. ❂