Selections from “ a trip takes us” and “on the ice”
I have always been interested in personal interactions between individuals and groups, the way that we arrange and carry ourselves when alone or with others says much of our supposed social roles. You begin to see the delineations of a family hierarchy and the relationships between men and women, adults and children. In a photograph people are captured in a moment of time within themselves, but also in relation to the people and places surrounding them.
I return to RV parks and ice fishermen with my camera because I am fascinated with these people and their chosen forms of recreation. The way in which people assemble themselves, who they choose to spend time with, how they engage each other, ignore each other and where they choose to locate themselves. Physically it creates a stage where we become witness to these unknown but familiar activities, the comforts of home taken out of context and into the outdoors.
As a photographer there is a great challenge in these delicate arrangements, trying to exert my own voice on a situation without crushing the perceived honesty of the moment. My interactions with these subjects are varied, but the pictures are always collaborations on some level. I am seeking to find a balance in their awareness of the camera, but also a certain permission to just be. These individuals seeking solitude or social interaction are linked to the idea of a community, no matter how small or how temporary.
- John Hirsch |
 |
Click on each image for larger version and caption.
“a trip takes us”: RV Parks
 
 
 
“on the ice”: ice fishing
 
 
|
