The Backyard

When I started this project of imagery I had no intentions of ever considering them anything more than just snapshots of my family’s backyard. Making these images was just more or less an exercise of my photographic skills while spending time at home. The more I thought about this work I began to fixate on the imagery and look for reasons why I found them so appealing. It soon became evident that this project was to document my family’s backyard as a personal space.

The backyard is not only a living space for us, but also for our pets. It is an extension of our house, and exhibits an intriguing place of whimsy and country living. This place is cultivated and maintained by my mother. She lives to be outside and cherishes her animals and plants. These images truly reflect her influence on the backyard, but do not directly document her being in the space. These images are quiet and peaceful. They are snippets from the daily summer life at home.

All of these photographs were made in the summer of 2003. They are now documents of a past life. Some of our pets have past away, and the backyard has taken on a completely new look. In 2007 my parents decided to renovate their house, and closed in a considerable portion of the porch. As a result, the backyard life operates quite differently than when these images were originally made.