Frames Magazine article on Jody's Cancer Story
I am greatly honored and humble by a recent article written by the talented writer Rob Wilson for Frames Magazine Digital Companion. It’s about Jody’s Cancer Story. It’s a story I shot ten years ago but has regain light with recent interests. Frames Magazine champions excellence in photography in all forms. They felt compelled to help share her story with my photographs to its members. I highly recommend you read this if you want to get a good sense as to who we are as artists, patients, friends, survivors, human beings. This is the most eloquent explanation as to which I do and what I love to do.
Please check out Frames Magazine online for some wonderful photography and words about it.
TELLING JODY’S STORY
Rob Wilson
In the columns that I write for FRAMES, I sometimes have the honor of bringing you images and stories that I think are very special indeed. For this month’s column, I delighted to bring you a photo essay that left me near speechless when I first saw it. It is a narrative that is so universal and so relevant to each and every one of us that it instantly compelled me to make it the focus of this article. Now you might think that I am indulging in a bit of hyperbole here. I am happy to admit that my prose may turn a little on the purple side when I get a bit too excited about some of the photographs that I write about, but that is not the case here. This is a work that contains the two elements I most often mention when I talk about images of people that move me; it is both humane and humanistic, but it is also so much more than that. This exceptional essay is by Christian Peacock and is called Jody’s Cancer Journey.
Peacock is a California-based documentary photographer. He began his career in New York before returning to his home city of San Francisco where he is now based. He has worked with an impressive range of clients. These include Barclays Bank, Benziger Wine, Blue Cross, and Business Week, and that is only a few of the ‘B’s. In addition to the commercial work, he has also published a successful series of fine art posters. His website contains the by-line “Capturing the human spirit” and this encapsulates the focus of his work perfectly. The images and projects that he creates are all about people. Whether his work features the Lakota people of South Dakota, with whom he worked on a project called Reclaiming Futures that attempts to help young people caught in a spiral of drugs and crime, or celebrities like the legendary Willie Nelson, it is always our shared humanity that it is central to his photography.
However, this story does not only belong to Peacock. It also belongs to Jody, but it is through Peacock’s visual prose that her story is brought to extraordinary life. She had survived a previous battle with cancer for over ten years earlier, but this time, when the disease returned in another form, Peacock was there to record and share her journey. The essay as a whole captures the ups, the downs, the times of pain, and the moments of joy.
Jody at her nadir, winter 2012
The complete essay contains multiple images that carry substantial power, and all of those we feature here are strong, but I want to focus particularly on two of the pictures. The first is one of the most powerful images that I have had the honour of featuring in this column. It is simply entitled Winter. Jody had been placed in isolation due to a dramatic fall in her white blood count. Throughout her treatment, she was supported by the love and kindness of her friends, family, and medical team, but here she is utterly alone. Peacock had been documenting his friend’s entire story from diagnosis onwards, but it was here that she reached her nadir. Besides its obvious power and pathos, the photograph demonstrates that great photographs are made by great photographers and not by cameras. On this particular day, Peacock was not carrying his camera equipment and shot this on an iPhone. The tool used here matters not. This intimate image carries a universality that I suspect every single one of us can understand. By the time we have reached even a moderate age, we will have all either endured or watched any number of friends, family, and loved ones suffer with illness that we are powerless to do anything about.
Transformation, 2012
The other image that I particularly wish to focus on is the final photograph, Transformation, which shows an imaginary world where Jody is releasing a bird and
has a cloth streaming out behind her. This tells a very different story to rest of the essay. Throughout the rest of the essay cancer looms large, its inescapable presence pervades every one of the photographs. Yet, this is a light and rather joyful image with its significance only revealed by its presence in the series. This is Jody facing a hopeful future. The black bird being released perhaps signifies a potential end to the extraordinarily challenging process that she has been through. The sunlit hills in the distance hint at a brighter and cancer-free world.
The rest of the images give us a fascinating and moving insight into Jody’s story. We feel her emotional turbulence, fear, and exhaustion that she endured through the course of her treatment, but we also see the support of others. In the first of the images entitled Chemo Round Two, she lays her head onto her husband’s face. This is a truly human experience.
Chemo Round two. Waiting with her husband. 2012
Chemo Round two, 2012
I asked Jody how she felt through the whole experience. I was going to use her words as a reference for this article, but instead I would like to share them with you. Her moving prose encapsulate the whole experience far more effectively than what I could write.
“It was the hell realms- literally, trial by fire with radiation treatment. I discovered a level of strength in my vulnerability - I experienced the profound sense of the fragility of life and the incredible resilience of my body to repair itself and heal. I had the opportunity to address vanity - one that’s been a lifelong issue and one that still gives me trouble. I discovered that I was truly loved and supported by family and friends. I experienced deep gratitude for the power of a kind word or a gentle touch by a caregiver or loved one that could soothe and comfort. But in the end, cancer treatment is truly a very lonely journey, a walk no one can do for you. I said the 23rd Psalm a lot during those months. “Yae though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil...”. And, I am not a religious person, but it helped me to stay strong, stay the course, muscle through each day one day at a time, sometimes one moment at a time, hopefully with some level of grace and dignity. I will be forever grateful to Christian and my husband for the unflagging love and care. Because I know for caregivers it may be even harder because they to feel so helpless in the face of such a difficult journey.”
Just diagnosed and facing her future at SFMOMA. 2011
Radiation, 2012
The Big Shave, 2012
Peacock often heard people comment that Jody was “too beautiful to get cancer”. Of course, how we look has nothing to do with our vulnerability to what Siddhartha Mukherjee named “The Emperor of All Maladies”, but it did lead Jody and Peacock to question whether the response to the photographs would have been different if they had featured him, a middle-aged man. This is certainly an interesting point, but the photographs are so expertly crafted, so moving, so personal, and so humane that I think Peacock could have woven an impressive story about any subject. However, the fact that his subject, Jody, is an instantly engaging figure adds an impressive and meaningful icing to this exceptional photographic cake.
Radiation, 2012
Reflecting on this article, I do not think that I could truly do it justice even with thousands of words more. I can only remember one previous essay about illness captivating me in a similar way; that was an essay by Ed Kashi that documented the final years of his father-in-law’s life as he struggled with dementia. Sadly, I have not been able to locate Kashi’s essay online to share with you for comparison. However, Jody’s Cancer Journey needs no comparison. It stands alone as outstanding work developed from a collaboration between a photographer at the peak of their powers and a subject, who despite being in unimaginable pain and distress, understood the need for this compelling and universal story to be told. Jody’s may be a painful story, but it is a hopeful one as I am happy to report that Jody has now been cancer free for ten years. She and Peacock will soon visit Mexico not to continue the cancer diary, but to make new images and to tell new stories.
Rob Wilson for Frames Magazine https://readframes.com/
Behind the Scenes with Debbie Allen
Shooting the cover story on Debbie Allen for Dance Media.
A video of actual patient living her life the fullest it can be.
A recent video project I directed of an actual cancer patient living her day to day life without nausea and vomiting that is a common side effect with chemo treatments.
Clink on link to view.
In addition to directing I also shot all the stills to help add a total cohesive look to the brand.
Baring one's soul for a photograph
Many years ago I created a series of shots depicting different issues of people living with metal illness in an institutional setting. This was a very serious subject matter and needed to be told. One of the most pressing issues of mental illness is the effect it has on the family. The impact can carry life long ramifications throughout multi generations. This photo of a patient/mother seeing her young son was one of those stories. This whole scene was created as to drive home the consequences of serious long term mental illness and the family. To get the actors in the proper mind set, I purposely had the female actress never see the young man who was portraying her young teenage son. The set up for the scene is that this woman has been institutionalized for a number of years and is just now seeing her son for the first time in many years because of family strife. During that time span the young boy has grown to becomea beautiful teenager. This scene is the actual moment the patient sees her son for the first time in so many years. I wanted the lead character to have the feeling of seeing her beautiful child grow to become a young man for the first time as she was seeing the most beautiful thing for the first time. This feeling she would convey would be loaded with numerous emotions being experienced all at the same time.
The actress we cast for this part was a veteran stage actress from the Chicago Steppenwolf theater group. I was quite fortunate to get such talent for this complicated role. For her to get into character for this scene she purposely separated herself from the set and crew and withdrew herself into the deepest part of her psyche. When all elements for the shoot were ready she walked on set, hit her mark and we rolled. During the time span it takes to squeeze off 64 exposures she gave me everything she had. Tears of joy, regret, sadness, happiness, embarrassment, love, and maternal longing. When done she was spent. She turned away from the set walked down the hall to be by herself. She gave me a little part of herself during that brief moment. She was exposed and I captured something that was personal therefore she couldn’t face me anymore that day.
Sometimes photography will expose the person being shot. It’s that delicate balance of trust and collaboration. The subject will trust us and lay it bare. It is an awesome responsibility as a photographer to respect that power. Not to abuse it. Today I have counted many social media notifications of woman being harassed and abused. It made me think of all the times woman have trusted me with power of the camera. That power can be translated into many other platforms such as employment, academia or most obviously Hollywood. When someone is vulnerable before you it is most imperative to more kind and understanding. Not to abuse that power. The recent news of the world has been most disheartening and I have hesitated to post any imagery that is somehow seems trivial. For the next few days I will be posting some images that present the humanity I have witnessed.
Today’s posting was a created scene, but there was honesty that happened on set that day that has stuck with me. That is why I posted it first.
Shooting for a purpose bigger than oneself.
George Mark Children's House is a place that offers life-affirming care and comfort for children and families during the most difficult times in a family's life. I have been involved with them for many years helping them visually tell their story. Recently GMCH updated their website and wanted to have new portraits taken of many of its staff members. It was important to photograph these wonderful people in a manner that was honest and straight forward. The spirit of the house had to shine through that was devoid of contrivance.
Kathy Hull - Founder
What it takes for a family to survive.
Family food insecurity has become a more appropriate term than just saying hunger. Families can live in the heart of downtown Oakland yet still be in a food desert. With no fixed address and finding shelter in an abandoned store front, this Russian immigrant family needs to take advantage of any opportunity that comes their way. There is no electricity in the store front so they run an extension cord to a neighboring live hook up. With this limited supply of power there is no refrigeration. They have to make a choice to have either a single light source switched on or run the microwave oven. Most of the light comes in through the store front window that has a white sheet that is half way pulled down. For privacy reasons they do not expose themselves to the street traffic right out their front door. With no way to keep food in their home they need to eat meals that are prepared and served hot from the community dinning rooms. As for showers, they are able to take advantage of the community swimming pool program for their daughter. When she swims, the whole family will attend and take care of their personal hygiene.
Shooting with Black and White Film for Big Pharma
Offering the opportunity to shoot with black and white film for a major branding campaign launch and why I suggest an old school method.
Shooting with Black and White Film.
The comp was a black and white photograph of woman gazing into the camera. The attention was geared toward her face with her shoulders out of focus. The client wanted the truth to come thorough the subject’s eyes. They wanted honest and authentic photos. I have been called upon many times to create such an image. During the whole process of estimating and creative calls I kept hearing the same mission statement. “The client was looking for that honest connection.” The supplied visual was that classic portrait with a large single light source. This was an important product launch for the brand. I asked myself, “What was going to be the little twist to make the viewer pause and take notice? What would make the viewer stop flipping through the pages of the magazine and take notice?”
Making a Commitment
It came down to the process of shooting. How to actually take the photo during the session. Everything was pointing to the obvious choice as to shoot with black and film and capturing everything in camera. In the current world of commercial photography digital capture is the only way to go. There are many great reasons to shoot digital during a commercial assignment with control being one of the most important. Another is for the client to review the session while on set. All the while there is the comfort of knowing that everything can be adjusted in post-production.
Shooting with roll film changes that. There are known reasons some why people shoot with film. They like the look and tonal quality of the finished print. In addition to that the main reason I wanted to shoot film is because I wanted shoot with my Mamiya RZ67. I wanted to slow down the process. I love the bellows focusing option the camera has to offer. It allows me to get up close and shoot with a narrow depth of field while still able to look through the viewfinder while shooting. The large 6 by 7 centimeter image area also promotes a shallower depth of field. It has taken years of experience to be able to follow focus on a subject while keeping a narrow depth of field. I always want my subject to feel relaxed during the session and not feel incumbent by the limitations of the camera. With ten exposures per roll to work with and a more fluid shooting relationship this camera combination has served me well through the years.
Making a Connection
There is another thing that happens while shooting with film. The connection between the photographer and subject is much more private. There is no tethered monitor off to the side with a gathering of people reviewing every exposure. That private connection between the photographer and subject builds a unique trust. A collaborative relationship can now build between the two. That energy stays on the set with only the camera being witness. The photographer has to know in his heart when he has the shot. The clients have to trust the process.
This process worked very well until the advent of the digital village. All of a sudden everyone has a say in the final image. That is because the captured images are now there for everyone to view on the monitor. The energy has been displaced to another area. For this shoot it was important to reel in that energy between the subject and photographer. It was elemental in getting that connection with the eyes in the photograph.
During this shoot the senior creative director sat right beside me during the portrait sessions. I could hear his expressions of confirmation simultaneously as I thought the same during a winsome capture. There was behind the scene video that captures the two of us almost connected by an invisible force, as we both would respond at the same moment to a winning expression. We both knew we had it and that’s all that mattered.
Working within known Boundaries
Another interesting occurrence while shooting with roll film is the limitation of ten exposures per roll of film. When you came to the end of a roll you had to pause and change film backs. This little break in the action was the silence in the shoot. This silence gave everyone a chance to reflect and think or discover. When shooting digitally a photographer can shoot nonstop. It creates a different type of energy on a shoot. For this shoot, those pauses and silence were perfect. It kept the pace at a more personal and somewhat reflective tempo.
Shooting high importance branding campaigns is nothing new for me. I have done this with film and digital. With experience in both realms of capture I was able to blend the best of both worlds. The client services and ease of production that digital has to offer and the touchstone of humanistic cravings with film. There was a muscle memory of shooting film that came back to me and crew members as we revisited old film logs and quad checks. That old “best practices” of assuring we got the shot fell right into place. It was like doing your old favorite dance again. We still had our moves.
Flexing Old Muscle Memories with Lab Work.
I still had that old unsettlednessin my bones until I hear the owner of Gamma Black and White labs call and say. “You got an image can I process the other half?” A personal and somewhat selfish desire I had was to personally visit the lab to pick up the film. I wanted to see my old friends and take in the smell of fixer and hypo clear. It’s perfume to me and I wanted another hit. There were a number of nice options to choose from. I always want to give the client many options as to finesse the final outcome. The campaign has been launched and some wonderful news has gotten back to me about how people are responding to the photography. How the images have connected with people on a personal level. The campaign just won Gold at the advertising Davey awards for photography. So something must have struck a cord with this shoot. Maybe it was allowing ourselves to step back a little and re-approach a photo shoot with a different way of capturing the moment.
2016 APA Something Personal Winning Entry
The story behind the photo. - George Mark Children’s House offers Life-affirming care and comfort for children and their families. It’s where the hospital meets home. One of the nice community events they do is hold a Prom where these families can come and participate. This photo is part of an ongoing series of portraits of children with severe disabilities being able to participate in traditional events that most other people are able to do.
“To the uninitiated may not understand the full meaning of these photographs, but the parents and children themselves understand that they live in a different world – a world with limits and physical boundaries, but not a world without love and compassion.” Here are just a few of the shots I captured that evening. I feel there is a nice collection of photos that should serve as a poignant reminder of the grace and beauty that is possessed in everybody.”
My book is ready on Blurb
My book "The Artists of Becoming Independent" has been published on Blurb. It would make a wonderful addition to anyone's collection of inspiration and art.
Click on image to be connected to Blurb page.
Photographing Artists for Becoming Independent.
My friend Meredith Nevard is an extraordinary person. She is one of the best connectors that I know. She has this gift of matching up people to create a new synergy with that pairing. Earlier this year she invited me to take a tour of Becoming Independent and it’s arts program.
"Becoming Independent is a community based service organization established over 40 years ago to help people with disabilities live meaningful and productive lives in Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties. “
Christian photographing Gabby.
These are mostly cognitive disabilities also known as intellectual disabilities. Meredith is such a strong advocate for this arts program. She was hoping that something would spark inside my head when introducing Becoming Independent Arts to me. Once a year I’ll shoot a personal project that has a purpose. Using my creative skills as a photographer to help give back. BI Art became this year’s project.
It was very interesting on the day of the shoot that I shot everyone first plus have them sign their autograph in my journal. Then afterwards I did all the copy work on the artwork. I did not know whose art was who’s when shooting the artwork. It was only until afterwards during the editing process that I matched up the art, signatures and portraits that I discovered a running thread throughout the three elements. I would notice similar poses, expressions, unique brush stokes in the art work that match the artist’s personality. Sometimes their signature would be a very strong element to the final piece acting as a ribbon tying it all together.
BI Art will be using this photography project to help promote the artists and program. Hopefully this will help shine a light on some very talented and deserving people.
Meredith asking Fred to sign in the book.
Enjoying a moment with Sandra.
Alabama Hills
Some recent work that is on display at the SFMOMA Artist Gallery.
Alabama Hills #1
Alabama Hills #4
Alabama Hills Panorama
Alabama Hills #3
Blue Draped Nude
A personal photo with my inspiration coming from my trip to Italy.
The Spy Game with Forbes Magazine
Forbes magazine asked me and two other photographers to photograph ex-NSA & Unit 8200 employees who have jumped to the private sector. Incorporating a Hollywood espionage style to tell the story I was able to transform “civilians” into iconic spy movie characters. The Man from Tel Aviv, The Operative, The Lifer at Langley, The Ivy League Influencer, The Cleaner and The Puppet Master.
Here I had to recreate this image in post production as so I can display only my subjects. Luckily I had in my files a current background plate that matched the mood and setting of a black bag drop. Fortunately “The Ivy League Influencer” came along with the deal. As with any spy game you don’t always know who is telling the truth.
The Man from Tel Aviv, The Operative, The Lifer at Langley, The Ivy League Influencer, The Cleaner and The Puppet Master.
Dr. Larry Rand - A True Mensch
Dr. Rand is the director of Perinatal Services at UCSF Medical Center. His passion and busy schedule are evident when you meet him. Yet he understands the importance of advocacy and research. He let me follow him around for a day allowing me access to his world. He is the truest sense of the word Mensch. "A person of integrity and honor." That is why the Jweekly.com ran a story on him, using some of my photographs.
To learn more about this remarkable person please read the Jweekly.com link.
Dr. Larry Rand in NICU at UCSF Medical Center
He specializes in twin to twin prenatal surgery.
and....he loves babies.
A Day at the Beach
Sometimes Amara and I will just go out with a camera and a armful of wardrobe and see what comes of it.
Del Harvey of Twitter
I was asked by Forbes magazine to photograph Del Harvey of Twitter. She is in charged of protecting it's users from the predators that are out there. There are 500,000,000 tweets a day. She needs to watch over these tweets for any speciousness activity. She say's just the vast numbers can be over whelming. To deal with odds such as 1 in a 1,000,000 is not good enough. That's still 500 potential abuses a day. We are lucky to have her as our mother bear looking out for us.
Kevin Systrom of Instagram
My first assignment for Forbes magazine was a cover shoot of Kevin Systrom. They asked me to make sure he looked powerful and in control, plus I got to play around with Instagram. Kevin is a photography enthusiast so we both had a very creative day shooting with multiple cameras and applying different filters. I would shoot some photos of him, then he would app the image. It's not often that a photographer gives the subject that much creative control over the image, but what the heck, he invented the darn thing.
An Instagram image of Kevin
Kevin showing off our collaborative efforts on my iPad.
A day at the Instagram office.
Kidney Dialysis Veterans
I was introduced to Gregory while shooting for DaVita. He has been on dialysis for ten years. Imagine having treatment every third day for that long of a time. It’s a routine that becomes his life. Yet he still carries on with an uplifting spirit. All of the patients I met have come to terms with their treatment. Most of them are waiting for a proper match from a kidney donor. To have such patience while in treatment takes a personal fortitude that must be admired.
Sun in his face, looking into the future.
Sun on his back, looking into his past.
More dialysis veterans.
Real Woman with Great Hair
Golnaz Shahmirzadi, Margo Moritz and Silvia Bagnacani are all close friends. Real woman, who are career minded and have great dark hair. I always see one of them with at least another near by or other close friends with them. Friendship like this will last a lifetime. I asked my friend Sarah Hyde to do hair and makeup on these three women and to let their natural beauty shine through. They all complement each other yet still stand on their own. We all had a wonderful time, performing the ritual of a fun photo shoot. The best part is to have wonderful photographs to remember the day. Three separate images yet still connected in spirit and style.
