Telling a Story

A Country Doctor by Eugene Smith and The Dad Project by Briony Campbell are both examples of linear picture essays, as they are presented in chronological order. A Country Doctor shows Smith’s account of twenty three days in the life of Dr. Ernest Ceriani working in his country practice, whereas Campbell’s Dad Project was produced during the last six months of her own father’s life as he battled against a rare form of cancer.

Both essays allow us to see life through the eyes of the caregiver; Smith’s images portray the mental and physical strain of being the sole physician covering a four hundred square mile area. Shot for an article in Life magazine, Ceriani is portrayed as a hero, having little time to eat or sleep as he slips from one speciality to another of his wide and varied profession. As Dr. Ceriani deals with pain and angst as well as the joy of a new life, his professionalism is shown through his emotional distance from his patients.

In Campbell’s work however, emotions run high as the love between father and daughter form the main theme of her essay. Where Smith created his work as a commission for a magazine, Campbell’s work came from within as a personal piece; she eventually made the decision to use the work towards her master’s degree in Documentary Photography. Over the six months leading to her father’s death, she dabbled, taking simple, safe shots to cheer herself up, gradually leading to the more open, honest and emotive images seen closer to the end. The autobiographical approach provides a much more real view of their journey than if it were shot by another photographer.

My personal feelings on these photo essays are quite different, although this maybe because I found more information The Dad Project which helped to understand Campbell’s reasons for creating the piece. On viewing the images for A Country Doctor, I wonder about the ethics involved in photographing the family’s grief as a man is taken, dying from their home on a stretcher merely to promote how difficult life is for the doctor. Although I understand that it shows the emotional difficulties a doctor has to contend with, I feel that the article could leave the patient feeling the more exposed. The ethical issues behind The Dad Project are highlighted by Campbell as she discusses the lead up to her final decision to create the essay. The focus of the essay was personal to her as it showed her view on her father’s battle with cancer, however she was not the only person exposed in the process. Campbell considered over how the process would affect her own grief but also spent time deliberating over the impact on her parents. It was only with the consent of her mum and active participation and encouragement from her dad that she finally decided to go ahead.

Thinking literally, The Dad Project has more of a beginning and end than Country Doctor; it shows Briony’s father’s illness from start to finish, whereas the latter shows a small chunk of an ongoing career.

I feel that Campbell’s words, ‘an ending without an ending’ relate to the ongoing nature of the project. Although the images show events ending with her dad’s death, the project has been with her for many years after. The months after her father’s death were spent editing the images to prepare for her master’s exhibition, an activity that although painful, helped her to slowly come to terms with life without her father. The process aided to keep her father in her life, maybe more so than before he was taken ill.

Campbell’s hope as she decided to create the project was that it would encourage conversation and openness about grief and loss. She has had to be completely open about her own grief, as her work was recognised and used far and wide. More than five years on, she still receives regular recognition for her work and her hopes, along with her father’s as a family therapist continue to be realised.