EOL = End of Life
Last week my father-in-law (the veggy cattle farmer) went to the
hospital for congestive heart failure and a blood clot in the lung.
Those two issues were fixable. The advanced prostate cancer that has
spread throughout his body is not. He's 87 and has ignored this
problem for a couple of years. (various reasons).
So, in the next few days he is heading back home. The clock is ticking...
Over the past couple of years, I've taken the time to photograph him.
It's not that his mortality has been uncertain, but that it has always
remained a nebulous concept. But, now, it is another story.
I'm thinking about picking up a few rolls of Tri-X and spending the
time to document his face and expressions before the sickness takes
him too far down the road. I've thought about shooting color, but that
just doesn't seem right.
I know that I have the freedom to do this with him and the family. But
one question that comes to my mind is "how far do I go?" At what point
do I set the camera down and let what happens happen?
I will photograph his expressions and I will photograph his
interaction with each family member. But what else? In the past I've
photographed a few passings in hospice, but always for somebody else.
This is for family. Each family dynamic is unique.
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
--
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