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PART I
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CHAPTER 1
Why Photography?
There is an emerging evidence base to support the use of photography and image-making in the context of self-exploration, communication, creative expression and personal development. It is perhaps a reflection of the flexibility of this medium that research relating to its use spans the fields of health, social care and community arts, and includes work with people across the lifespan, from children to older people, from individuals with social and emotional needs through to people with dementia. As a medium it may be equally appealing to individuals in their teens (Wilson et al. 2007) as to older people aged 90 and beyond (Mitchell 2005), making it well-suited for intergenerational activities (Wang et al. 2004).
Itâs fun. Itâs something you can do when youâre bored and a really good way for me to know about photography and help our community (fifth grade girl). (Wilson et al. 2007, p.259)
It was the best day I had had for a very long time (older person with dementia). (Mitchell 2005, p.20)
Consequently it can be used by groups across a broad range of contexts, including in schools, colleges, youth groups churches and community settings, residential care, inpatient and day hospitals.
Essentially, taking a photograph may be likened to making a journey where the final image represents a meeting place that can be both a destination and a starting point. Self-exploration may occur at any point in the process. For example, at the beginning when the person is thinking and deciding what to photograph (the reason for their choice), during the act of seeking or finding the subject of the picture, in reflecting on the content of the photograph, when sharing the image with others or discussing the circumstances and context in which it was taken. The possibilities do not end there. A photograph has the potential to yield new insights each time it is visited and revisited by the person. This is because whilst the content of the image remains the same, the person who views it does not. The meaning of the photograph is not fixed or absolute; it is shaped by the experiences and perspectives the individual who views the image brings to the encounter.
This value is not confined to the photographs we take. Images taken by others may also provide a meeting place where this process can occur. Our natural response when we look at a photograph is to make sense of what we see. We gaze at the image, seeking out the story it tells and the meaning it contains. Yet we view the picture through the filter of our own lives, seeing it from our own unique perspective, superimposing our experiences, our fears, our hopes and values. Herein lies the power of the photograph as a tool for personal exploration.
The qualities inherent in photography therefore lend themselves to a range of possibilities, and the list of people who potentially could benefit from using this medium is endless. Image-making is not confined or restricted to a particular group, it is not bound by age or disability. This is perhaps best exemplified in a recent photographic exhibition âBeyond Sightâ: which featured the work of artists with varying degrees of visual impairment. Where individuals experience difficulties in operating the shutter release or in holding the camera, solutions are readily available. For instance a tripod can minimize the effect of tremor, shutter releases exist to make operating a camera easier for individuals with arthritis. Finding ways to make the process accessible and grading the activity will require imagination and creativity but it is possible and the potential benefits it offers are wide-reaching.
Although it is not necessary to be an expert at photography or possess any specific technical expertise to facilitate groups based around image-making, an understanding of the inherent qualities this media possesses will enable you to temper and make the most of the exercises described. In doing so you will be able to meet the needs of the people you work with and promote real and lasting change.
The first thing to say about photography in this context is that it is an extremely accessible medium. Most people will have taken a photograph at some point in their lives and will have access to a camera. As early as 1990 the Kodacolour Gold survey found that 80 per cent of households in the UK owned a camera, whereas the Wolfman Report concluded that in the USA in 1993 alone 17.2 billion photographs were taken, almost a four-fold increase from the number taken in 1967 (Cronin 1998, pp.69â70). Given the increasing accessibility and affordability of digital media this figure is probably much higher today, and it is set to rise as a generation of young people see the recording of everyday events with their mobile phones and the sharing of video on U-Tube and other social networking sites as a norm.
As a result of this familiarity with the media, taking a photograph may feel less threatening than engaging in other creative ventures, such as painting a picture or playing a musical instrument, where the individual may feel less in control and less confident in sharing the end results, particularly if these are then judged against a set of technical and aesthetic âstandardsâ. Indeed, the individuals taking part in groups that I have facilitated have described memories of arts-based activities at school and the passing of judgement âgood artâ and âbad artâ as the largest and most significant inhibiting factor that has prevented them from engaging in such pursuits.
Interestingly, within these same groups photography has not held such connotations. Taking a poor photograph does not seem to carry the same emotional baggage. Various explanations have been offered for this. The age of digital photography means that it is relatively easy to erase pictures that participants are unhappy with. Painting a picture requires an investment of time as well as emotion. Whilst the act of putting together the elements of a photographic composition may be time-consuming, the physical act of taking the picture is, by comparison, very short. If the end result is unsatisfactory in the individualâs eyes the perception of âwastedâ time is minimal.
Yet, by the same token, photography sits quite comfortably with other art forms and may be used alongside painting, poetry, creative writing and drama, and it can offer a way for individuals to âdip their toeâ into arts-based activities. The freedom afforded by the image-making process, the range of choices regarding the subject matter and the
infinite number of ways of looking at a picture make it an ideal medium through which to exercise imagination and build confidence in the use of creative media. A chapter of this book is dedicated to exploring how image-making can complement other art forms, creating a gateway to the imagination.
However, for some individuals for whom the act of engaging in a creative activity is too difficult, the thought of taking a photograph seemingly becomes impossible. Yet individuals need not be precluded from taking part in a group simply because they find it difficult to use a camera or take a picture. In these instances the person may be invited to take part in directing the process, instructing others about which part of the landscape to photograph or how to arrange a particular composition. A square of backing board with a hole mirroring a viewfinder would be a perfect tool to support this. Alternatively, the process of looking through books, newspapers and magazines seeking out images, rather than taking them oneself, can be equally satisfying and self-revealing.
The key to both activities, and to those directly using the camera, lies in the sense of control it offers. When a person directs the image-making process or engages in the act of taking a photograph the locus of control sits with them. They choose which objects, views or people they will photograph, which pictures they will discard, whether they talk about an image or opt to remain silent. For individuals who may not feel very much in control over what they do generally, this is a useful starting point. Being in control can promote feelings of self-efficacy, enable the person to develop skills in decision-making so that over time this new-found confidence translates into other aspects of their life. There are numerous examples in the literature of how this may occur and ways to facilitate the process. One of the clearest acknowledgements of this relationship is in the account offered by Frith and Harcourt (2007) in work with women receiving treatment for breast cancer. They write:
At a time when women feel that they lack control over their appearance, privacy and everyday activities we believed that it was important to give women control over what pictures to take, how many to take and when to take them. (Frith and Harcourt 2007, p.1346)
The multiple levels on which photography operates and its flexibility contributes to this element as the individual is able to choose and grade the extent to which they wish to be involved within the process. It may, for instance be a fun, sociable activity or extremely introspective and reflective. Photography could form the basis of a group or individual interaction. It can occur at any time of the year and does not require a specialist room or venue, which means that it can take place in most environments both inside and out. To this end it opens up a wide range of opportunities and is able to meet the needs of the person wherever they are; they can engage in whatever way and at whatever level they feel comfortable.
The other strength that photography has in relation to its use as a tool for self-exploration is that it encapsulates both process and product. As a process it may easily be graded in terms of time spent on the task and the complexity of the exercise, making it ideal for people who may initially find it difficult to concentrate or struggle to recall and sequence information. Claire Smith, a person with an acquired brain injury sums this up when she writes:
Itâs nice to have something so concrete, that thereâs a start, middle and an end. You end up with something you can see and for me thatâs so nice because the rest of my life is so elusive; thereâs never really an end result. (Smith 2007, p.299)
In this quote Smith attaches specific importance to the tangibility of the end product. Indeed the significance of this end result should not be underestimated. It may be a record of participation, a reminder that a person was there; it could symbolize an achievement or accomplishment, be offered as a gift to family or friends, form a focus for an exhibition or be spirited away and kept only for the eyes of its creator. In my own work I have witnessed the potential of the photographs a person creates in increasing feelings of self-esteem, lead to the development of a new hobby or interest and, on one occasion, result in a change of career and in the development of a new role. For some individuals the photograph has provided a means to record change: a reminder of progress made towards the realization of goals, to capture small imperceptible shifts in appearance, feelings or behaviour that might otherwise have gone unnoticed but, once recognized, provide a huge boost to confidence and motivation. In the words of Frith and Harcourt:
The cumulative picture built up through the gradual changes documented in the photographs can reveal evidence of changes to appearance that had gone unnoticed. (Frith and Harcourt 2007, p.1345)
By the same token it may also record deeper processes and struggles, those of inner conflict and resolution that may not be as immediately apparent to strangers viewing the image but which may, nonetheless, act as a significant reminder of the degree of achievement in the challenges survived and overcome to the person who has taken the pictures. As Lemon (2007) writes:
For the teacher visual narrative can reveal inner conflict or self-revelationâŚyet a consistent visual metaphor that displays aspects of personal growth (Johnson 2001) can be created. (Lemon 2007, p.183)
The strength here is that the photograph is viewed outside the time-frame in which it is created, which means that images taken in the past may be âviewed from the perspective of the presentâ (Frith and Harcourt 2007). This presents us with many exciting possibilities since the meaning of the image is not fixed, and it offers a medium through which the person is able to talk about issues they are currently facing, shifts in perspective, things they have accomplished, changes they have made or would like to make. The added advantage here is that a photograph offers distance and provides a means to step back and try to understand what was happening at the time, offering the opportunity to learn from these experiences. Because such feelings are not as raw and immediate it becomes easier to reflect on events. When images are then shared with others or in groups or in positive helping relationships reflection can occur and alternative perspectives may be offered leading to the development of new insights, meanings and a growing self-awareness. The focus of the exercises described in this book is not on in-depth exploration or interpretation but on the process of sharing and collective problem solving.
Where a person experiences difficulties in communicating images may provide a new language by and through which to communicate. As Berman (1993) explains:
Sometimes concepts, feelings or visual experiences can be difficult to express linguistically and we may use photographs to enhance or replace our verbal description. (Berman 1993, p.9)
In such instances photographs may offer a symbolic language where the subject matter of the picture is not taken literally but is used as a metaphor to express something else. This, again, has the advantage of offering distance from the subject matter and providing a way to get in touch with and articulate difficult feelings and emotions. At the same time this can offer the means to gain new insights as the following reflective account provided by Gloria (not her real name) illustrates.
I wanted to talk about how ugly and unattractive I felt. I was growing older quickly and just no longer felt at ease in my body. The person I was on the outside was a completely different person to the real me on the inside. The problem was I felt ashamed and so when the tutor said to find an image that represented the subject we wanted to talk about I chose the oldest, most gnarled and deformed tree in the park. I started to photograph the wrinkled bark, click, click, clickâŚ
Yet as I did I was struck by the strength of the trunk. It was huge. No one was going to move this ...
