NOVEMBER 2024: LYNN FRASER & JACQUIE MATECHUK
PHOTOGRAPH: CONNECTION
THE ASSIGNMENT BRIEF
This is a first for the monthly assignments, in that we’ve not to date had two photographers setting the same word - but this month we do, and I’m delighted that their personal examples below show a deep connection with their subjects. You interpretation may not necessarily be a connection with or to a subject; it could be an object or similar inanimate item.
From Lynn Fraser: “This word crops up frequently when discussing photography. My thoughts for the assignment are that you could show a relationship between people or an object, perhaps a spark between yourself as the photographer and the subject. For me, as an example, a connection came from photographing one of the girls of the Arbore tribe in Ethiopia. She stared right down the lens of my camera, right into my soul, which I felt was a really strong connection formed between the two of us during that portrait.”
From Jacqui Matechuk: “For me, connection comes from my subjects, though for me to gain connection, I need to be invested in them and to understand them. I need to respect them, and I need to know them. This is an assignment I will be excited to see as a visual response to the question of what has made you feel connected. That could be a connection to your subject, a connection to the moment, perhaps an experience, but something that has stirred your soul and made you feel something deeply, and if you can turn that into a moment, a frozen frame, you’re going to have an immense feeling of accomplishment.”
HOW TO ENTER. IMPORTANT NOTES ON FILE SIZE AND ENTRIES
Send your entries to stories@photowalk.show. Your picture should be 2,500 pixels wide, if possible, for online optimisation. Or send the full-resolution photo, which we will optimise. Feel free to provide text if you think it will help explain the location, context, etc.
Entries are shown below. Good luck!
Neale
JACQUIE MATECHUK
‘The Watchman’ by Jacquie Matechuk, a perfect example of connection, the theme of November’s assignment.
LYNN FRASER
The Arbore photograph made by Lynn, where the eyes connected with the photographer’s soul.
MARILYN DAVIES
Street photography often provides a moment of connection when in a scene you're photographing, someone spots the camera and immediately there is a connection. This was a scene after a wedding at Woody Point, Queensland where one of the people being photographed spotted me and my camera.
MARTIN PENDRY
I've reached that age where I look back and think, "Ah, youth! The days when I thought I was indestructible."
Now, health has become something I don't take for granted, especially given that I have to roll up my sleeves for at least one blood test a week. Some weeks, it's even two or three, which is quite a thrill for someone who still cringes at the sight of a needle thanks to a childhood trauma involving an overly disastrous dental injection.
So there I was, sitting in the blood room at my local hospital, waiting my turn, listening to a podcast on this month's photography assignment theme: Connections. And as I looked around, it hit me. This blood room represents a universal connection. Blood tests are one of those inevitable threads that link us all, from kids to seniors, from the sick to the well. It's a place we all end up, like it or not, in our shared journey to monitor, maintain, or discover our health.
In a sense, the blood room is not exactly a place that screams "inspiration" at first glance. It's a simple, sterile space, often a bit too chilly, and filled with the gentle hum of nerves and waiting. And of course, these sorts of rooms always have the classic tacky notices taped to the walls, inevitably a little dog-eared. You know the ones, probably printed out in Comic Sans. But it's also a quiet witness to countless health journeys. In capturing this room, I wanted to highlight that this uninspiring space is a significant connector, bringing us together on our paths toward health and healing.
See more of Martin’s work on his Instagram.
