“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”
—Vincent van Gogh
“Being different isn’t a bad thing. It means you are brave enough to be yourself.”
—Tigger
For the month of August, I’m lucky to have two wonderful women to share with you—Anna and Bella. I photographed this mother/daughter pair during sunset at Dillon Beach. They had this fun idea to be old fishermen, and I absolutely loved it!
I met Anna when Bella was a baby at Mother’s Support Network. This was my home base from the moment my son was born, and the women I met there are precious to me. We spent countless days and hours chatting over the struggles of motherhood, attended festivals and camping trips together, and managed to stay in contact with each other over the years.
In addition to being one of the most thoughtful mothers I’ve ever met, Anna’s an incredible writer, artist, and overall creative powerhouse. We’ve written together for years, and I count her amongst my closest friends. Anna’s honest, kind, and has a knack for always knowing the exact thing to help talk me down when I’m losing my shit. She’s that friend. The best kind.
Bella is one of the most gifted, lovely young ladies I’ve ever met. I had the pleasure of photographing her college senior photos, and they are some of my favorite pictures I’ve taken. Ever. She’s not only smart and beautiful, but she’s thoughtful and kind. She’s currently working on her Masters in Cognitive & Information Science at UC Merced at 20 years old. This girl is going places.
When I tell you we had fun on this shoot, that’s an understatement. From the silly props to the absolute incredible faces they were giving me, this was a blast! I hope you like these as much as I do, and that you take a moment to read their very thoughtful responses to my questions.
What makes you proud?
Anna: Seeing my daughter achieve and grow into her goals. Watching my daughter find her own path in life. Creating visual art pieces that tell a story and are beautiful from my perspective. Writing words that feel authentic to what I’m trying to say. Writing a phrase that feels particularly lovely to me.
Bella: I’m not sure proud is something I feel very often. Changing the word to accomplished, then maybe, but they wouldn’t be grand things. Instead, I feel accomplished when I do small necessities like calling the doctor to change my insurance or paying my rent on time. The things that most people would assume make me feel proud just feel like things to me; they feel like they’re expected of me more so. Attending school, doing homework, receiving decent grades just feels like what has to be done. I think it comes from that pride is a feeling that comes from relating your life to others. People feel proud of things they’ve done that are great relatively to others, but I don’t tend to think that way cause I see other people who have accomplished things so entirely different from me, and feel often jealous of them. I think everyone’s life is just so uniquely their own that comparison — whether good or bad — doesn’t produce pleasant emotions.
What makes you feel brave?
Anna: I don’t notice that I ever feel particularly brave. I just push through whatever needs to be done. If I feel anxious or reluctant, I push through and do it to the best of my ability in that moment.
Bella: I also wouldn’t say bravery is something I ever really feel. Bravery is, I guess, a retrospective emotion. You don’t feel brave in the moment. You assume bravery after you reflect upon the interaction. For most things in my life, I don’t feel fear before or bravery after. I feel dread before and relief after. I don’t fear the activity as I know before it starts, I am perfectly capable of completing it. I just dread the time, or energy, or discomfort it requires to complete it. Afterwards, I just feel relief that it is over and start to dread the next activity I am required to do.
What gives you hope?
Anna: People who speak out against injustice. People who are actively supporting equality. Seeing younger generations discussing and arguing over how best to make our society better.
Bella: I’m not sure there’s much that gives me hope. I’m a nihilist, so much of the things I find hopeful would be considered quite pessimistic by my mother. I like the idea that we’re cosmically insignificant, that nothing we do really matters. I know, to many, that seems dark and scary, but to me it feels like freedom. We’re obviously still significant to ourselves and those around us. Cosmic insignificance doesn’t excuse bad behavior, but I feel that it allows you to let go and do what makes you happy when it makes you happy. Without a defined fate or purpose, each day can just exist. The world is tough to live in right now and it always has been, but for me, the idea that it’s all just stochastic developments makes it less like a punishment or trial. I feel it allows the world to be a little less heavy.
Bonus shots, because honestly I just love this shoot so much.
These were taken with my Olympus E-M1 MarkII, using several different lenses and edited with Lightroom Classic. Let me know what you think, and check out the others in this series if you missed them.
An excellent set, Bridgette! Love them!
Bridgette, I love this series. Each one is so fantastic!
Thank you for the beautiful photos & to your subjects for sharing their thoughts.
Bridgette, I love this series. Each one is so fantastic!
Thank you for the beautiful photos & to your subjects for sharing their thoughts.
Lovely and fun. As you say Bridgette, there you have two women with a thoughtful and realistic outlook on life. I had to laugh (forgive me) at their portrayal of fisherwomen – the old time reality, perhaps on Ireland’s west coast, would be weather-beaten women, lined and old before their time, working as hard as their menfolk. But the pipes and woolly hats are good 🙂
What a beautiful shoot. Love the old fisherman theme! Their statements about their lives and thoughts are amazing and inspiring.
Haha! Fantastic shots of great models. The B&W photos sold it for me. Loved it 💙