In an essay Transforming Destiny into Awareness, by Sarah Greenough, attention is drawn to the way the photography book is more than simply a book containing images, it is a careful sequencing and editing of images that creates a whole web of relationships and dissonances that drive the viewer through the book. Some groups of images create a forward narrative while others invite the viewer to return to pictures already seen before moving on. Where this informs my own practice, is that I am very interested in creating pictures that live together. I have photographed a number events in recent months: weddings, festivals and some travel photography. When editing pictures after the event, I have come to a realisation that I am no longer seeking to create the great photograph, rather, I am aiming to create a coherent body of pictures that can be viewed together. When creating a book, be it for a wedding or a personal project, I am becoming increasingly interested in the relationships between the pictures be it subject matter, form or even just a mood. What the Sarah Greenough essay has highlighted, is the different ways photographs can speak to each other, not just in terms of contrasts or similarities, but in other more subtle ways. These are areas I would like to explore more in future.
