In the Spirit Of
Each of these camera lenses belonged to a photographer. For each lens, I reached out to the surviving family to learn more about the original owner. For the In the Spirit of (ITSO) project, I try to capture images of similar subjects, places, or the same style of the original owner with their own lenses.
Body of Work
The following pages showcase the various photographers, their lenses, and pictures I captured using their lenses.
ITSO JA: Japan
Photographer JA was a veteran who was stationed in Japan following the end of WWII. According to a family member, JA fell in love with the people, nature, and architecture of Japan. Additionally, they documented the terrible destruction of the US bombings of Japan. I spent two weeks in Japan with their lenses capturing the people, architecture, nature, and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Japan.
ITSO AHJ: The High Sierras
Photographer AHJ was passionate about documenting the natural beauty of the High Sierras. I brought one of their 50mm lenses on a multiple day backpacking trip capturing images along the way.
ITSO EF: Point Reyes National Seashore
Photographer EF owned the camera gear since 1970. While their passions and preferred subjects were many, the focus of this set is their love of nature conservancy and documenting seascapes. Point Reyes National Seashore seemed like an adequate location to carry on the same spirit of EF's lenses.
ITSO MR: Sacramento
Photographer MR lived in Sacramento and was a fan of the local nature. Specifically, they ventured to scenic spots along the river and to wildlife refuges in the greater Sacramento area.Â
ITSO JR: Shawnee State Park in Bedford, PA
Photographer JR's primary vacation spot were the campgrounds of Bedford, Pennsylvania. The nearby Shawnee State Park was were they returned to document the fall colors. The window for prime fall colors in this area is small, so I waited until the last second to travel out to document the beautiful autumn forests in the spirit of JR.
ITSO SRU: Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is filled with mountainous jungles and sunny beaches. SRU was a photographer from this tropical island and the subject of this set.
ITSO SW: Landscapes in Lancaster, PA
Somehow or another, the ex girlfriend of photographer SW's son was in possession of these lenses. They said SW was from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was a fan of capturing landscapes and the forests in the area. This led me to bring SW's lenses to Lancaster and document any landscapes I could.
ITSO GJV: Yosemite
Photographer GJV loved the splendor that Yosemite held: Tulomne Meadows, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and more. I brought their camera lenses back to Yosemite to capture the park's beauty again.