Two Projects Selected For 2021

As I mentioned two weeks ago, although I didn't publish a looking-back-looking-forward post for 2020/2021, I set some goals for this year.

In addition to publishing 12 book reviews on the blog, I want to work on two specific long-term projects, which I started last year.

The first project is about car enthusiasts

In the Upstate of South Carolina, several groups arrange regular meetings for car lovers to meet up and do a show-and-tell about their cars.

The cars range from vintage, regularly 1950's models to hypermodern sports cars, and the owners usually have done beautiful restorations or made modifications to bodies, interiors, or engines.

I try to attend as many of these meetups as possible and usually do with my oldest daughter. She is in her final year of studying photography and art history and Winthrop University. But while she is focusing on creating images of the cars, my main interest is for the owners.

Interested in discovering why they are so passionate about their cars and cars in general, I love to listen to their stories and their discussions.

I started this project last year. Unfortunately, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the meetups were canceled or attended by fewer participants, and, consequently, finishing it will probably longer than I anticipated. Still, I will continue to visit any gatherings as much as possible (while, of course, taking the right safety measures like distancing, wearing a mask, washing hands, etcetera).

The second project I am working on is about people's dreams that didn't come true or had to be abandoned.

The images focus on abandoned houses, shops, and other buildings that show some indications of what they were used for.

Most people, I included, usually only see the old, abandoned, run-down buildings. While we might like to see the building restored to its old glory in some cases, we still only see the building.

But each of these buildings is so much more. They once were places where people worked, lived or played, and tried to realize their dreams. The old pop-and-mom shop, the restaurant that never really made it, maybe bowling alley or a bingo hall.

It is my objective to trigger some thoughts about who these individuals might have been. How did they live, why did they work here, why did they abandon their dream?

I don't know the answers, but I want my audience to realize that these buildings are more than mere physical remnants of times past. There are personal histories behind each.

This project also kicked off in 2020 and I envision that I will work on it for at least two more years before I can begin reviewing, culling, and selecting the final images. I will keep you all posted!