Brief
- How does Briony Campbells The Dad Project compare with Country Doctor
- What do you think she means by “an ending without and ending”?
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- Fig. 1 Briony Campbell The Dad Project 2011
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- Fig. 2 USA. Colorado. Kremmling. 1948. Dr. Ernest Guy CERIANI, a country doctor (aged 32), going to visit his patients in their remote villages.
The Country Doctor is a series which takes a look into the life of a country doctor;
..……photographer W. Eugene Smith spent 23 days in Kremmling, Colo., chronicling the day-to-day challenges faced by an indefatigable general practitioner named Dr. Ernest Ceriani. (Cosgrove, 2012)
and doesn’t chronicle a particular event like Briony Campbells The Dad Project. Campbell’s work is also very personal, she is part of the story and not an outsider taking shots of strangers and places.Because of the very personal nature of Campbells project, it was not an easy task right from the start as she points out;
My desire to undertake this challenge was not followed easily by the decision to go ahead… far from it. I’ve never deliberated so heavily over anything. For a while this decision became the most agonizing aspect of my grief. (Campbell, 2011)
This is an aspect that was not there for Smith, and although there must have been some harrowing moments, he was not personally involved with the people in the shots.
In trying to answer the question – What do you think she means by “an ending without an ending” I got caught up in determining “ending” to mean two things, the end of her dads life and the end of the project. The project itself has continued and her relationship with her dad has continued through it. It has helped others to cope with their own grief, and helped her to cope with the absence of her father, as her life moved forward – with her dad.
In realizing The Dad Project I made a lot of tough decisions. Without my dad, but very much with him.(Campbell, 2011)
Bibliography
Figure 1.
Campbell, B., 2011. The Dad Project – Briony Campbell | Photography & Film. [online] Brionycampbell.com.
Available at: <http://www.brionycampbell.com/collaborations/the-dad-project/?overview> [Accessed 23 November 2020].
Figure 2.
Smith, W,E. 1948. Country Doctor
Magnum Photos. Country Doctor • W. Eugene Smith • Magnum Photos. [online]
Available at: <https://www.magnumphotos.com/newsroom/society/w-eugene-smith-country-doctor/>
[Accessed 23 November 2020].
Cosgrove, B., 2012. W. Eugene Smith’s ‘Country Doctor’: Revisiting A Landmark Photo Essay. [online] LIFE.
Available at: <https://time.com/3456085/w-eugene-smiths-landmark-photo-essay-country-doctor/>
[Accessed 9 November 2020].
Campbell, B., 2011. [online] Brionycampbell.com.
Available at: <http://www.brionycampbell.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/The_Dad_Project_Briony_Campbell.pdf>
[Accessed 9 November 2020].
OCAPhotography 