I just got a surprise, a rather amazing email from a person I don't now, an email that sort of took my breath away and encourages me to to double my efforts and work harder. Sometimes you feel like your just spinning your wheels going no where but when people take time out of their lives to follow your work and write to you it's a big positive rush, you feel your doing the right thing and on the right track. I will take this positive vibe with me when I return to Thailand soon to continue the work. The stories I want to tell are starting to be be told : ) , "Ain't Photoraphy Grand!"
I will follow many of J...'s suggestions, including spending more time with the people, a stronger edit and a project name change. Here is the email:
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You wrote:
"Families of The Dump", does not describe what you wrote to me. What is see in what your wrote above are a group of people whose lives are "RECYCLED" endlessly/repeatedly due to circumstances out of their control. Thus I feel a more fitting title for the project is "THE RECYCABLES" because their lives pass through the same cycle on a daily basis similarly to the trash that they collect and recycle which can be likened to extractions of useful materials crucial to their survival. Let it be known that I did not think of the word "RECYCABLES" but thought it best fit your project after you used in your post about how Burmese people like to sing when they work.
.......
I hope my words did not offend you. If they did I humbly apologize because it was not my intent. I make no claims of being a photography expert, but I see so much potential with this project. I needs to be completed fully, and I do not want to see you rush it. I think if you wait a couple of years with a strong edit the Galleries/Museums will take notice as they pay more attention to Long-Term projects than those that are recent and fresh. Do not let the rejection disuade your pursuits of completing this WONDERFUL well-needed story. You are the right person for this project. I am certain of it!
Also, I believe your decision to only use 35mm for this project is well founded. Keep up the GREAT WORK!
J.....
I will follow many of J...'s suggestions, including spending more time with the people, a stronger edit and a project name change. Here is the email:
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Gerry.
I have followed your work for quite sometime now since viewing it on APUG. I am writing as it relates to your "Families of The Dump" series. I admire what your are doing, but fear you a rushing to bring what you have experienced emotionally to the public. This project has HUGE potential, but I feel it needs to be more developed into a long-term project. It is still in its infancy and I fear that by producing a book, and displaying what images you currently have to Galleries and Museums will cause you to not successfully relay your message due to the short amount of time you have spent at the dump thus far.
Over time, I feel your pictures and vision will become stronger as you adjust to using your 35mm camera's, especially the R6/60mm lens combo. You will become an invisible part of the community and your photographs will become more intimate and stronger. You will be able to produce those close ups that you mentioned as well as wide, long, and medium shots. Also, things that you mentioned such as: composition, quick accurate focusing, interpreting a scene correctly to tell the story properly, selecting the decisive moment better, the right camera angle, your use of light shadow, and the use of foreground to be better able to tell a 3D story will become intuitive.
Sebastiao Salgado, whom we both admire normally takes 8 years to complete his projects. I am not suggesting you wait that long, but I do not want you to rush this project because I know you are onto something GREAT! W. Eugene Smith, of whom we greatly admire also took years to complete his series, and sometimes did not complete them at all due to not being able to control his passion and excitement for his work. It completely overwhelmed him to the point that he lost the importance of what he wanted to convey. It is my hope that you find a medium between the two above mentioned photographers to ensure your work is seen in the best manner possible as it relates to this project.
Also, in my opinion, the title of the series "Families of The Dump" has a negative connotation to it. The word dump is likened to filth, trash, germs, bad smells etc... It makes me feel as though the families have been thrown away and are less important than the trash they collect which is counterproductive to what you are attempting to portray with this story.
I have followed your work for quite sometime now since viewing it on APUG. I am writing as it relates to your "Families of The Dump" series. I admire what your are doing, but fear you a rushing to bring what you have experienced emotionally to the public. This project has HUGE potential, but I feel it needs to be more developed into a long-term project. It is still in its infancy and I fear that by producing a book, and displaying what images you currently have to Galleries and Museums will cause you to not successfully relay your message due to the short amount of time you have spent at the dump thus far.
Over time, I feel your pictures and vision will become stronger as you adjust to using your 35mm camera's, especially the R6/60mm lens combo. You will become an invisible part of the community and your photographs will become more intimate and stronger. You will be able to produce those close ups that you mentioned as well as wide, long, and medium shots. Also, things that you mentioned such as: composition, quick accurate focusing, interpreting a scene correctly to tell the story properly, selecting the decisive moment better, the right camera angle, your use of light shadow, and the use of foreground to be better able to tell a 3D story will become intuitive.
Sebastiao Salgado, whom we both admire normally takes 8 years to complete his projects. I am not suggesting you wait that long, but I do not want you to rush this project because I know you are onto something GREAT! W. Eugene Smith, of whom we greatly admire also took years to complete his series, and sometimes did not complete them at all due to not being able to control his passion and excitement for his work. It completely overwhelmed him to the point that he lost the importance of what he wanted to convey. It is my hope that you find a medium between the two above mentioned photographers to ensure your work is seen in the best manner possible as it relates to this project.
Also, in my opinion, the title of the series "Families of The Dump" has a negative connotation to it. The word dump is likened to filth, trash, germs, bad smells etc... It makes me feel as though the families have been thrown away and are less important than the trash they collect which is counterproductive to what you are attempting to portray with this story.
You wrote:
"It was sad to say goodbye today, these people cannot go forward to other countries or back to their own homes in Burma, they are caught in a no mans land. They work in the dump site because its the only way they can make a living, the only way they can feed their families". Seeing children running barefoot through the garbage or covered in flies is heartbreaking. You feel so helpless being in a situation like that, you want to help but how?
"Families of The Dump", does not describe what you wrote to me. What is see in what your wrote above are a group of people whose lives are "RECYCLED" endlessly/repeatedly due to circumstances out of their control. Thus I feel a more fitting title for the project is "THE RECYCABLES" because their lives pass through the same cycle on a daily basis similarly to the trash that they collect and recycle which can be likened to extractions of useful materials crucial to their survival. Let it be known that I did not think of the word "RECYCABLES" but thought it best fit your project after you used in your post about how Burmese people like to sing when they work.
.......
I hope my words did not offend you. If they did I humbly apologize because it was not my intent. I make no claims of being a photography expert, but I see so much potential with this project. I needs to be completed fully, and I do not want to see you rush it. I think if you wait a couple of years with a strong edit the Galleries/Museums will take notice as they pay more attention to Long-Term projects than those that are recent and fresh. Do not let the rejection disuade your pursuits of completing this WONDERFUL well-needed story. You are the right person for this project. I am certain of it!
Also, I believe your decision to only use 35mm for this project is well founded. Keep up the GREAT WORK!
J.....
