When I posted the image of Carol and her tattoo in the week 2 forum, my felow students were very kind. I was grappling with the issue of how much needed to be explained in the text and how much of her story was actually told by the photograph.

The conclusion I came to was that the photograph did not tell the story, that my photograph simply had not worked. What was needed was not more words but more, and more purposeful, photography.

Carol very kindly let me return to make some fresh pictures with her.

part of the contact sheet of my reshooting with Carol

Taking a cue from Alec Soth, I was keen to include images of documents relating to Scott – a birthday card made on decorated slate from Scott to his mother and the chit which was stapled to the box of his ashes. It felt imperative, in terms of the birthday card, that the images hear from, as well as speak of, Scott.

I have selected a number of images and printed them off and am about to look at sequencing. One of the big lessons I’ve learned this week, via our course tutor Cemre, is the importance of “getting rid” of excess images of “refining down to only that which you really need for the project”.

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