topics

The last week has been somewhat frustrating concerning the areas that I would like to pursue and shoot for my topic. As I discussed with Paul, there are several topics that resonate much more with me than others and it is incredibly important for me to feel that the subject matter in my photos is relevant. Without being inspired by the story behind my work I would feel that it is far less sincere. The idea that seeems to be the most inspiring for me at the moment is confronting the issue of mental health. This is something I have always felt strongly about and even dealt with in previous works but in the last year, my desire to have this avenue explored has only intensified. Blacksburg has been my home since the age of two, on April 16th I was nowhere near the Virginia Tech campus and found out about the shooting through a text message that one of my friends in Florence had recieved. Perhaps I am looking for my own way to grieve, or process all of the emotions that I have experienced over the last few months. I have countless people in my life that have been affected by this tragedy, and my community is only beginning to recover. I didnt plan on saying this much about it all but these are the kinds of things that make me want to deal with documentary photography. My hope is to find a situation where I could talk with those who are struggling, or follow a family who is facing the challenges that come with dealing with mental illness. I realize this is a sticky situation and that there is a lot of red tape, but that is part of the problem. I want there to be less stigmas assocaited with those people whose daily life is affected by these issues. I dont want to breeze in and out. That is not realistic nor can it really allow me to understand the people that I am including and showing in such a vunerable state. I want it to show hope as well. This will obviously be a large undertaking but I am feeling like this is something that I could possibly take somewhere worthwhile.

another article that interested me discussed the mental health issues of returning Iraqi war veterans. This topic is hardly touched by the media or public in general and is starting to have more and more of an impact. The article I found was in Roanoke Times but this is another I located online with the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801712.html