LauraAmy Patterson's love note to her father
LauraAmy Patterson’s series is a love letter to her father. What better series to run on Valentine’s Day than this tribute to paternal love?
'The Goodbye Trip'
Shot on Cinestill film/ Nikon F3
“My Father passed away October 2017. October 2018 my mom and I went to spread his ashes in his favorite place. These are all spots I walked with him or my mom walked with him. Taking these photos was very cathartic, as is most shooting time for me. Really photography has saved my life in many ways! I can say with pictures what I can't say with words.”
See more of LauraAmy’s work on Instagram at @time_is_like_a_broken_watch
ALTER/ANALOG: What alternative processes did you use for these photos?
LP: Film has always spoken to me. There is something about the warmth and depth of a film shot that beckons to you. Stumbling across old photos of my family or photos in an antique store, I could almost feel the life. I shoot film because it is an expression of life. Moments captured to become memories.
In that same vein I am very influenced by the process analog photography offers. Like with the 'goodbye trip' series, I used Cinestill 800 Tungsten film. This film will react differently depending on what light temperature you are shooting in. Due to this fact the process of shooting tungsten film in an environment that is already cool creates an alternative result. Pairing this with pushing the film 2 stops, creates something rather dreamlike and ethereal.
ALTER/ANALOG: You indicate shooting is cathartic for you. How so?
LP: It is this very process that is so cathartic to me. Capturing the dream world in camera, bringing it to life, this allows me to feel close to something intangible. To express as well as discover.
ALTER/ANALOG: Can you elaborate on how photography has saved your life?
LP: I think the most beautiful thing about this photographic journey is that it has given me a voice artistically when for so long I felt I had none. I have always been a visually creative person but had a block that lasted for many years. It took losing my father to a disease that had no face, to be able to break that block. Since October 2017 I have taken my love for analog very seriously. When I say to people that photography saved my life it can seem quite dramatic, but when I have a camera in hand I have a voice, strong and clear as the click my shutter makes. I can work through so much in this medium that I could have never even imagined. The most basic places can become something deeply profound just based off of how I frame them, how long I expose/how many exposures.
ALTER/ANALOG: Why have you chosen film as your medium?
LP: Film allows me to be who I always wanted to be. Someone with something profound to say. And I truly want and hope to use that to help others.