Originally, I was going to ask what kind of photo projects people are currently working on, and this thread popped up in the suggestion list, although it is focused on long-term projects, it made me wonder if people work on short-term projects, and if those, in turn, become long-term projects in the long run. Which got me thinking - at what point does a project "end" for you (if it does)? Do you just go with the flow for photographing whatever is needed for your project, or do you have some end point (a date, an exhibition, a book, etc) in mind?
For myself, I came to the realisation a few years ago that while I have a variety of images, they don't really work cohesively as a portfolio of work. And with several people asking me to show them my images (or telling me I should have an exhibition of some sort) I realised I needed to put together a series of images that would work together. I came up with a few themes/subjects that constantly show up in my work and thought I would work on those, regardless if anyone was interested. The project that took me by surprise, and is kind of consuming most of my photography, especially when I travel, has been photographing cemeteries (particularly the sculptures - not original, I know, but it's something I enjoy). I can barely keep up with even making basic prints, but still think about all the other places I want to go to before I put something (final) together. But I have to find a place/time to stop, or to focus more on the print-making side of things, because even though I now have hundreds and hundreds of images to choose from, I still don't have a lot of final prints to show for it (the whole purpose of this exercise). I do have some ideas of what to do with them (create a book on a platform like Blurb, but also do smaller handmade books of lith prints from individual cemeteries, and possibly doing a hybrid project with my iPhone images; plus I keep a blog about all the places I've visited, kind of as a resource for others, but mostly for me to remember each of these places because after a while quite a few do blend together). And that's only the cemetery project! I kind of wish I could do this full-time, as there are so many things I want to do, but it's difficult with a very full-time job. I could never pick up a camera again and have more than enough to keep me busy in the darkroom for the next 5-10 years, but of course, that will never happen.
Anyway...I'd like to know how the rest of you manage your photo projects, if you do.
... - at what point does a project "end" for you (if it does)? Do you just go with the flow for photographing whatever is needed for your project, or do you have some end point (a date, an exhibition, a book, etc) in mind? ...
I don't think of projects in terms of "subjects" or techniques or appearances. I'm involved in a long-term project centered on one side of my family's photos...
I have another set that has to do with another family's odyssey, very early European prints through exile (?) in Harbin, China (with research about Soviet murders) to ultimate survival of at least one woman till mid 20th in San Francisco. May eventually turn this evidence into a novelized history..
Rachelle your blog is outstanding, and very well organized. I just looked at it briefly but I'll return later as the images are excellent.
As for projects and knowing when you're done, I'm reminded of "Elliott Erwitt's Dogs". I hope I'm remembering this properly, but I think the book was a result of reviewing a career's worth of work and discovering an awful lot of pictures of dogs. And I love that, just the idea of doing your own thing, the stuff that brings you joy, and a project coming of it, in its own time.
In your case I wouldn't know when to stop since you're clearly enjoying your subject matter and may not want to stop, even after publishing something. So, you know, beat's me.
I have a small team based project ongoing, but there is a hard deadline whether I'm ready or not so it'll be easy to know when to stop. I'm also making yearly portraits of the neighborhood kids and that'll be over when they tell me it is. (I did myself a big favor of showing kids and parents my copy of Nicholas Nixon's "Brown Sisters" this year and now the parents want me to continue until we're all old, which makes me very happy.)
I think you are at the point where you need to understand "why" you are photographing what you photograph. Most people never get there.
I have many, many blogs / websites and produce lots of artist's books of my own photography and an archival collection I manage. I also manage a small gauge film archive that has about 300+ films in the collection, but have no place to put the films. YouTube banned me after 6 uploads. Also have some films on Vimeo, but taking an easy on them for now, so not many uploads.
Here is one that is pretty generic you may like and should not offend anyone...early Eastman archival material.
Here is one from 'The Beatniks' artist's book.(part of the archival collection)
Again, one that wont offend...'The Birth of the Beatniks.'
Yes, OP, projects can crystalize your thinking and direction to build on a theme. In my early days, before doing books, I just wanted 'one photo' for my portfolio. Now I look at a photo for the possibility of expanding it to an in-depth book project. I'm kinda like you OP, I have way too much to ever deal with. I am very choosy what I shoot now. Still have photo going back to 2013 that need cleaning out.
A project needs a "mission statement" to be truly successful. Going through that process will accomplish many things, one of which is probably the most important, what in your mind denotes "success" at the end. As far as your cemetery photos you could divide them up into regions. I am sure each region has it's own flavour. The end of that "project" could be when you have enough great images from each region.
"Managing" a project probably needs some definitions - of both manage and project. For many, a project is just an ongoing series of like or similar subject matter. There may be no end. To me, a project has an end, because a "project" has a purpose. I've been on two. The first was a group of photographers photographing a specific set of buildings for historic preservation, history, etc. I was asked to join and did the same type of work, obviously. Oddly, the project ended not with a book, an exhibition (we had exhibitions, though), a set body of work, or another fixed goal. The "project" was pretty much ongoing until everyone else got tired and dropped out. I had no desire to continue by myself. The second was not so much a "project" as an "assignment". I had an idea for a documentary project to add photographs to an archive, and the archive supported me. It ended with not only the photographs, but two exhibitions and a book. The project ended when the book was published. May not help, but this is my perspective.
This is a welcome and excellent thread.
A project needs a "mission statement" to be truly successful. Going through that process will accomplish many things, one of which is probably the most important, what in your mind denotes "success" at the end.
Perhaps, by definition, a "project" can be defined in words, begun at a certain point in time.
Photographs organized by ill-defined gut feelings are probably not "projects." Ongoing photography without borders is probably something other than "project."
So, if one is a street photographer or wedding photographer, that body of work is probably not a "project" without some tighter parameters that can be stated.
A lifelong career in wildlife photography is probably not a "project," but a specific exploration of a particular phenomenon in Alaska, such as caribou migration, might be a "project."
My own ongoing and past photography (other than with the collections I mentioned near the top, isn't a "project." If my work became an exploration of personal emotions, perhaps that would be a "project."
I think "project" implies an eventual end point.
Just some thoughts.
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