For a while now I have been working on a Rites of Passage photo essay. To round off the personal project I was desparetly looking to photograph the birth of a child. I didn't want just any birth, however, I wanted to find an unusual birth situation. Perhaps with a midwife, or a home birth, or a water birth. I must have called and emailed every midwife in Boulder County and Loveland. I just kept thinking someone has to answer me, but they didn't.
I know I have mentioned this before, but in my work e-mail I get numerous "tips." Many times I just scan and delete and I am glad I kept this one. A woman emailed from a new Nurse-Midwife clinic that just begun in Boulder. I immediatly called and got in touch with Merrilynn Artman, CNM, MS. She was amazing and realized I just wasn't some creepy dude with a camera. On a Sunday – a day I like to turn my phone off, but didn't for some reason – I got a call from a woman who said she wouldn't mind if I took photos of the birth of her son. Bizzare. After months of trying all of this came together without me trying.
Long story short, I slept with my cell phone for a month. I always thought the call would come when I was out of town for football playoff games, or at 3 in the morning and I was anxious to say the least. The call came when I was shooting the Denver Broncos game on Monday, Nov. 19. I moved some photos and ran to Boulder and made these photos over many hours.
An editor once told me I needed to step out of my comfort zone to make better, meaningful photos. I can honestly say I did that with this little project. I would like to thank The Champe Family and Merrilynn for allowing me the opportunity to document their huge day and fellow staffer Jill Mott for helping me edit the audio and photos. To see an audio slideshow you can click
here.
I know I have mentioned this before, but in my work e-mail I get numerous "tips." Many times I just scan and delete and I am glad I kept this one. A woman emailed from a new Nurse-Midwife clinic that just begun in Boulder. I immediatly called and got in touch with Merrilynn Artman, CNM, MS. She was amazing and realized I just wasn't some creepy dude with a camera. On a Sunday – a day I like to turn my phone off, but didn't for some reason – I got a call from a woman who said she wouldn't mind if I took photos of the birth of her son. Bizzare. After months of trying all of this came together without me trying.
An editor once told me I needed to step out of my comfort zone to make better, meaningful photos. I can honestly say I did that with this little project. I would like to thank The Champe Family and Merrilynn for allowing me the opportunity to document their huge day and fellow staffer Jill Mott for helping me edit the audio and photos. To see an audio slideshow you can click here.
2 comments:
Glad it worked out for you to do this story. The multimedia show is pretty nice and the audio seems really clear, relevant and advances the story quite well. Some really strong moments photographically too.
Kick-ass, Buck.
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