“If you’ll walk across my camera,
I will flash the world your story,
I will pay you more than money”
Ideas, aspiration, the rising, falling, re-shaping of an idea … the making of a project. At this moment, amid a recent bout of listless street shooting, I’ve pieced together a few emergent ideas, just no pictures ... yet.
Each of these ideas take place in central Italy, where my language skills, to be generous, are lacking. But I know a guy, well, almost a kid still, who has grown up just up the hill from where I plan to shoot, who I believe can help.
The first project considers drinking water - with some historical context - but it’s really about people, economic constraints, and community.
I plan to engage (mostly observe) locals who regularly gather fresh drinking water from an old fountain sourced by two merged rivers that wind down and pass a small village positioned down in the shadows of the Apuan Alps.
I have considered the basics, including how light and shadow play off the fountain; I’ve noted the ebbs and flows of foot traffic; how I will position myself to engage and build trust; and what I should carry with me to show I’m serious, that I’ve done my homework.
What I can’t foresee is whether this idea will take flight. Maybe I will engage with folks gathered around the fountain in ways I never imagined. Or perhaps the idea will fall flat in execution. Maybe I’ll fail to build honest engagement, become discouraged, or retreat under the guise of boredom …
Such is the life of a photographer, or my version of one. Grand ideas often take sharp turns, or fizzle. Today, I’m excited with possibilities. I’ve pumped myself up with just enough bravado to give this nascent project a name, Fontanella, before taking one picture. Sometimes, shaping an idea is what matters.
“I like to work two ways, either on a specific idea or just wandering around, getting lost, snapping. Eventually all the wanderings go together, and then I find out what I’ve been doing.”
Check back in a few months, or six. I’m hopeful you will see more than a fenced billboard promoting a project to nowhere.