Exercise

 

Compare Bryony Campbells The Dad Project and W. Eugene Smiths The Country Doctor

Both of these projects are an example of a linear storyline photo essay.

Eugene Smith The Country Doctor is a seminal work of the photo-essay genre. Produced by Smith on assignment for Life Magazine and was shot over a 23 day period in 1948. Smith didn’t have a completely free rein on the project – this was the 1940’s and he was under contract to Life magazine who want a human interest story about a rural doctor to pull at the emotions of its readers. There they did give Smith a long list of items they wanted to be covered, I believe around 45 items particularly that the doctor should be attractive and live a picturesque setting.

Given his brief and restriction from his employers, this a tremendous piece of work, Smith shot for several days with the doctor, so that the doctor became used Smiths presence and this is evident in the shots he has produced. The shots are visually appealing with high contrast reflecting the hard work of what looks like the sole community doctor, however, there is no evidence of posing or set up about the shots. Also within the essay, Smith has been able to add subtle political undertones as reflects the changing shape of medicine as it modernises.

Bryony Campbells Dad Project is a similar project but it comes from a much different place. The project is entirely personal and his her own way of dealing with the hard reality of her fathers terminal cancer and impending death.

Unlike Smith’s country doctor this project was less meticulously planned; Campbell states ‘project took form as it occurred’. (Campbell, 2011), which I can understand as having lost a parent to cancer you do just take each day individually. The project was Campbell’s way of dealing with grief, As I said I lost a parent to cancer so I understand unlike a sudden or unexpected death or just death by old age: cancer is death sentence you have time both process what is happening.

The Dad project is in 2 parts the images of her father and where he has turned the camera upon herself which in my opinion gives this set of images their strength because the people most affected by a death are those left behind.

Campbell’s work appeals to me on a personal level it reflects own experiences and I feel that this perhaps true for many viewers and this what stands it apart from the Country Doctor – there is little emotion drawn from Smiths images when viewed today, the world has moved medicine has changed it is just a historical record. Whereas grief will remain grief, death will remain dead, the work will be as relevant in 50 years as it is now.

Campbell herself call it an ending without an ending – this could be interpreted as being that although her father has passed her memories remain but perhaps more strongly is that death never ends one person dies and so does another, life is a cycle it never end one person’s part in it ends but life does not end.

References

Cosgrove, B. (2012). W. Eugene Smith’s Landmark Portrait: ‘Country Doctor’. [online] Time.com. Available at: http://time.com/3456085/w-eugene-smiths-landmark-photo-essay-country-doctor/ [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

Campbell, B. (2011). The Dad Project – Briony Campbell | Photography & Film. [online] Brionycampbell.com. Available at: http://www.brionycampbell.com/projects/the-dad-project/ [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

Campbell, B. (2011). [online] Brionycampbell.com. Available at: http://www.brionycampbell.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/The_Dad_Project_Briony_Campbell.pdf [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

YouTube. (2013). Country Doctor, Eugene Smith, 1948. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPyof-3WmGg [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].