Adam Family
Reid Family
Bairnsdale
“while we look not at things seen, but things unseen; for things seen are temporary, but things unseen are eternal.”
Just before Easter my Nanna passed away, she had lived a very long life and was in her 90's. I put together a slideshow of photographs for her funeral service and spent almost a full day sitting with my parents and aunt compiling all the photographs we could find of her life.
I think naturally when someone passes away we reflect, this process of putting together a photographic story of my Nanna's life made me think. How there is no number of photographs that could possibly capture a life, but also how much one picture can really matter. My mother's father died when she was a child and as we combed through the photographs taken while he was alive we discovered that there is not one family photograph.
It resonated with me because despite our access to camera phones and other photography these days I had just read this post from Cath from Words in Wonderland. She writes about how her husband passed away on the day they were to have their family photos taken and the only photo they had of their family was a blurry snap taken by a stranger on holiday. It breaks my heart and blows my mind that a family can go undocumented in that way. Perhaps that's the reason I chose to make these photographs of my family on the day of my Nanna's funeral because you never know what tomorrow holds, but I can capture today.
Cath has set up a charity that provides support to young families who have a parent diagnosed with a terminal illness you can find out more at Big Love Foundation.
Burley Family
