BCM115 ASSIGNMENT 1

Ruby Duffy 5800791

Jessica with her baby, Penelope Stolz, smiling despite the Mountain chill and the looming threat of rain.

Taken at Blue Mountain Cultural Centre, Katoomba on March 18th

Jessica holdsPenelope who is

eager to enjoy the Library

Taken Katoomba, March 18

Jessica holds the hand of

her daughter

who hasn’t yet learned that roses

have thorns

Taken in the Carrington Gardens,

Katoomba March 18

Jessica giggles while Penelope stares aghast as they rest outside

Pickwicks

Taken in Katoomba, March 18

A fascinating pair descend the staircase on our antiquing venture

into Pickwicks

Taken Katoomba, March 18

In a sea of colourful tourists Jessica

stands out

Taken atEchoPoint,

KatoombaMarch 18

Jessica isdwarfed

amongst the trees at a lookout,

contemplating the vast abyss

of clouds

Taken in Katoomba, March 18

Jessica rests after a quick bushwalk to

the Three Sisters

Taken in Katoomba, March 18

The subject of my photo series is Jessica, whom I first met in 2016 when we were working together at a café in Katoomba. My first impression of her was one of

surprise, I had assumed that her intense goth clothing and extensive tattoos would be indicative of a mean or antisocial personality, but Jess could not have

been more friendly and delightful. After becoming friends with her on social media it became clear that her cheerful demeanour was not the result of an

effortless or carefree lifestyle. Jessica survived a suicide attempt in December 2014 where she broke her pelvis and left leg. She still, nearly five years later,

suffers from chronic pain, reduced flexibility, and to this day there are metal pins in her leg. Jessica has posted very publicly and explicitly about her mental

health online, before and since, and I find it incredibly inspiring of her to be so open with her experiences of mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, and

isolation that all led her to try and take her own life.

That aspect of her however, is Not the focus of my photo series. The reason I think Jessica fits the title of a “Living Rebel” is because she is happy! In April last

year Jessica gave birth to her first child Penelope, a beautiful healthy baby who features in several of the photos in my series. I didn’t want to create a morbid

narrative of Jessica’s recovery for this assignment, instead I wanted to capture her how she is in her everyday life - shopping, going to the library, going for a

walk - and show how quick to smile she is, and how lovely her relationship is with her daughter.

Inspiration for this series came from biographical photographers, such as Brandon Stanton from Humans of New York. I tried to capture small moments of

Jessica, as she interacts with Penelope and alone in an attempt to show aspects of her personality. I was also inspired by Diane Arbus, and the friendship she

conveyed with the subjects of her portraits. What effort I did go to in editing the shots was mostly just deepening colour palettes, to create richer, more vibrant

environments – I wanted the background to reflect the often-playful interactions of mother and child.

The limitations on this assignment were numerous, the time constraint being the most prominent. Jessica works throughout the week, and has to care for her

child in the rest of her spare time and I have class and work almost every day. Furthermore Jessica lives in the Blue Mountains which is 4 hours away by train,

which meant that my opportunities to shoot with her were extremely limited, which explains why all the photos in this series were taken on the same, overcast

day.

My technical knowledge of photography could be described as novice at best, and due to the time constraints I had only attended two days of class before I

took these photos so unfortunately I was unable to incorporate many aspects of photographical theory, however I believe I was able to capture what I set out to

achieve.