Post by Katie Hester on Sept 6, 2014 0:02:33 GMT -8
I have watched the world change around me through the lens of a camera. It's been almost 50 years since I drew my last breath. My face looks the same in the mirror, too pale and too young for the years that I've seen. My eyes are the only indication of the time. My hands still bear the scars from my youth when I was learning to carve under the watchful gaze of my grandfather. Now, instead of the knife, I hold a camera. Have I lost the last thing that tied me to my family? The land of my mother's people has been changed by my father's people as I stand in the shadows belonging to neither.
In 1913, a boon was called in and I had to learn a new art. The Leica was created and it was asked that someone young enough to cultivate the skills necessary take it up and make art. Barnack wanted success for his new invention and for the transition to 35mm film. He believed it was the way of the future and had invested everything he had into it. I was the one chosen. I had been a mortal in Seattle and it was decided that I should leave for a period to ensure I wouldn't be recognized by those who had known me or my family.
I went to New York to learn the art of photography. The professor gifted me with one f the Kodak Brownie cameras before I left. It saddened me to leave behind someone who had allowed me to remember from where I had come without embarrassment or feeling as though I was an outsider. I would continue to correspond with him though as he was eager to continue learning.
In 1914 the war broke out and the world seemed to change. The war to end all wars. There were marches through the streets and everyone was hopeful. I was torn between fear of the war, wanting to be hopeful for a successful outcome, and being afraid that I wasn't acting patriotic enough. I appeared to be European enough to pass, but I knew that if I wasn't careful, my disdain for those who believed this was their land would show.
In 1918 the war ended, but in 1919 it seemed like we had another war staring in the United States. There were riots and strikes They bombed Wall Street and a search began for those who didn't belong. I left the city to avoid detection. I couldn't bear to watch so many people tear apart the land that they had taken. So I travelled the States to photograph the growth and innovation instead.
With the Great Depression, I returned home. It affected us all and I tried to keep a record of these changes. The city had grown so much since I was last here, but with the depression, the growth seems to slow. It doesn't stop though, the strength of the Northwest keeps its people moving.
We watched as another great war started in Europe in 1939. It didn't seem possible that this would happen so soon after the end of the last. Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941 and we went to war again with the rest of the world. But the end of the war is in sight....
In 1913, a boon was called in and I had to learn a new art. The Leica was created and it was asked that someone young enough to cultivate the skills necessary take it up and make art. Barnack wanted success for his new invention and for the transition to 35mm film. He believed it was the way of the future and had invested everything he had into it. I was the one chosen. I had been a mortal in Seattle and it was decided that I should leave for a period to ensure I wouldn't be recognized by those who had known me or my family.
I went to New York to learn the art of photography. The professor gifted me with one f the Kodak Brownie cameras before I left. It saddened me to leave behind someone who had allowed me to remember from where I had come without embarrassment or feeling as though I was an outsider. I would continue to correspond with him though as he was eager to continue learning.
In 1914 the war broke out and the world seemed to change. The war to end all wars. There were marches through the streets and everyone was hopeful. I was torn between fear of the war, wanting to be hopeful for a successful outcome, and being afraid that I wasn't acting patriotic enough. I appeared to be European enough to pass, but I knew that if I wasn't careful, my disdain for those who believed this was their land would show.
In 1918 the war ended, but in 1919 it seemed like we had another war staring in the United States. There were riots and strikes They bombed Wall Street and a search began for those who didn't belong. I left the city to avoid detection. I couldn't bear to watch so many people tear apart the land that they had taken. So I travelled the States to photograph the growth and innovation instead.
With the Great Depression, I returned home. It affected us all and I tried to keep a record of these changes. The city had grown so much since I was last here, but with the depression, the growth seems to slow. It doesn't stop though, the strength of the Northwest keeps its people moving.
We watched as another great war started in Europe in 1939. It didn't seem possible that this would happen so soon after the end of the last. Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941 and we went to war again with the rest of the world. But the end of the war is in sight....