My year in 52Frames
- Tammy Salomon
- Dec 29, 2014
- 12 min read
This week, besides marking the end of the 2014 calendar year, also marks the completion of my third consecutive year submitting a photo each week for the 52Frames project. For those of you who haven’t heard of the project, or haven’t seen the randomly tagged photos of me appearing on Facebook at the beginning of every week, 52Frames was created at the beginning of 2011 by my friend Yosef Adest, with the aim of fostering a learning community of photographers. Each week there is a different theme and participants must take and submit a photo related to that theme within the week of the challenge. Consistency is encouraged, so even if you don’t have anything brilliant to submit for a particular week, you are still encouraged to make the effort to submit, in order to keep the creativity flowing.
I was part of the first group of 52Frames participants, otherwise known as “framers”, originally joining the project at the beginning of 2011. The first year started off quite well, but then life got in the way, with an ex-boyfriend plus his flatmate, plus a large pitbull, plus all their furniture and luggage, moving into my tiny one bedroom apartment for a month, hugely curtailing my ability to do anything but curl myself into a tiny ball in an attempt to take up less space, and try to get myself in and out of the apartment each day without knocking into any of the various animate and inanimate objects temporarily wedged into that small space. As a result, around 12 weeks into the year I stopped submitting, and never found the motivation to start again.
At the beginning of 2012 I spoke to Yosef about re-joining the group, and since the first week of 2012 I haven’t missed a week. That’s 156 weeks of consecutive submissions, something I’m quite proud of. Submitting every week has been challenging, as I have faced quite a few obstacles over the last few years, and have still managed to not only take a photo, but to actually submit before deadline each week -consistency, consistency, consistency! The last couple of months have also quite challenging, as I’ve been traveling, and the internet reception in Nepal, India and Sri Lanka isn’t exactly reliable, with a few stressful races to get my shots in before the deadline and quite a few “thank you”s due to fellow framers who have helped me so far with submitting.
One thing I love to do at the end of every year is to put all my submissions together in an album and scroll through them. It’s amazing to see a few snippetsof the year, fifty two snippets showingwhere I’ve been, what I’ve done, and the progression of my thought processes throughout the year. I can see where I’ve developed as a photographer, as a person, and get a better insight into the year that was, the type of insight that you don’t really get when you look at individual photos as they are taken.
This week, as I look through my submissions, I’m amazed by how the year has progressed. If someone would have told the dissatisfied, troubled girl looking back at me in “Self Portrait” week back in week one of 2014 that I would be writing this post from somewhere in Sri Lanka, she would never have believed it. Week one was one of my most difficult weeks in the project. How do you take a photo of yourself when you can barely stand to look in the mirror? My life consisted of work, work and more work. I was stressed, not exercising, putting on weight, and altogether in a bad place. During performance evaluations at work that same week, my boss told me that while I was doing a great job, I needed to be “happier”. How does one become happier when it’s hard to even admit that things are bad and need to be changed? I was stuck in a common rut. I had a decent job, was making a relatively decent salary, and things were ok. When you’re in that place, even if you can see the outward signs indicating that all is not as it should be, it can be difficult admitting that something needs to be fixed. Even more difficult is actually doing something about it. I took that first shot in the dark, with only a flash burst to illuminate my face. A circle of light, painted with a flashlight, surrounds my face, the shape reminding me of a noose, something that was unintentional, but, when put together in context, seemed so foreboding.
As a photographer I shoot what I see around me. I’m not really into setting up my shots, don’t usually plan my submissions in advance, and am not good at asking people to model for me. As a result, most of my shots are spontaneous, and are usually the result of me walking around during each week searching out my surroundings for something reminiscent of the current week’s theme. Once in a while there’s a theme that needs some element of pre-planning, or I’ll get a burst of inspiration and try to set something up with a location and a model, but other than those few weeks, most of the images that I post form a showcase of where I was and what I was doing during that week of my life.
My album this year contains submissions from 22 cities in 6 different countries. The majority of my shots were taken in Israel, in Jerusalem, which is unsurprising because that is, after all, where I live and where I spend the majority of my time. Other Israel shots come from Tel Aviv and from various other parts of the country. I have consistency shots (surprisingly not many) taken in or around my house, submissions from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv photowalks, and one or two staged submissions. Shots from weeks 11-13 from Dublin and Paris were taken duringmy travels with other 52Frames participants as part of our trip to London in Marchfor the 52Frames international exhibition, and shots from the last few months, weeks 44-52, were taken in various places in Nepal, India and Sri Lanka, as part of my current travels.
As I scroll through my album I see beach shots and river shots. I see shots of desert scenes and party shots. I seesubmissions from places in Israel that I’d never been to before this year, and photos that were taken under circumstances that I would never have been exposed to (literally and figuratively!) if not for some of the changes that took place in my life and within myself during the course of the year. My submissions remind me of quiet times in the middle of the chaos that was the war during the summer in Israel, and they show me how much I’ve progressed as both a person and a photographer throughout this year. They show me where I’ve been, and give me an insight into where life might take me in the future.
I see turning points in my life, small things that I never realized would have such profuse impacts. An example of this is my trip to Ireland, London and Paris for the 52Frames London exhibition back in March (weeks 11-13), a trip which wouldn’t have happened if not for Doreen and her dedication to her photography and the 52Frames project. The absolute freedom I felt during that trip, most of which was spent with fellow framers, was my first trip outside of Israel since I stopped observing the Shabbat and keeping kosher,and made me realize that I couldn’t keep hiding the fact that I was no longer religiously observant from my family and friends anymore. I realized that this secret, one of the weights I had been carrying for a long time, was finally too much to bear, and that if I ever wanted to be truly happy, I needed to be honest about myself and my life, especially to the people I care about the most. The admission changed my life, and continues to impact it every day. It has helped me to reach the path I am on now, happier than I have ever been with myself, and more accepting of who I am. Of course every day is still a challenge, and the learning curve that I’m on is huge and probably never ending, but I feel like I’m in a good place to keep learning and developing.
When I look at week 22, “Joy”,a slightly shoe-horned submission, taken during the preparations for Midburn 2014, the first Israeli regional Burning Man event, I see not just a photograph of Daria doing acroyoga, but another event that had repercussions on my life in so many unexpected ways. After Midburn I became part of the Israeli burning man community and found myself with a newset of friends, a family of “burners”, a group of people who look at others and accept them for who they are, not based on where they work, where they live, what they do, or what their religious levels are. My burner family have become such an important part of my life that it’s hard being away from them, especially at this time of year when preparations for next year’s Midburn are starting to get underway. My return ticket to Israel was booked based on the dates for Midburn 2015, and even though it’s still five months away, I’m so excited to be able to return from the amazing adventure I’m on and to go straight home to my real family in Jerusalem and then to my burner family in the desert.
After Midburn, equipped with an additional set of friends and new avenues to develop both myself and my confidence in who I was and what I believed in, I found myself spending my nights and weekends in different places in the country. There were parties on the farm, weekends on the beach, camping by the banks of the Jordan river, all of which have been documented in my 52Frames submissions for that period of time. My weeks were enriched with new experiences, new friends, a feeling of belonging that I hadn’t felt in a long, long time, and sense of peace within myself, even during times of unrest. I even ended up with another self-portrait as my submission for ginger week in week 35, something that surprised me, as I never thought I would voluntarily turn the camera on myself. If course it wasn’t all happy times, as I strived to find a balance between my “new” life, and the life I had known before, with people who were always so important to me, and with a belief system that was so different. My weight ballooned again, after working so hard to lose the extra kilos earlier on in the year, and I was sick a lot of the time.
With that conflict ever-present in my mind, being made redundant from my job early in September came as an almost-relief to me. My mind was churning all the time, never really sure if I was in the right place or doing the right thing. I was being confronted with internal challenges all the time, as I found myself in a new world, with rules and norms that were so foreign to me and to the religious background that had shaped my life so drastically until this point. My life had taken such unexpected turns since the beginning of the year and I wasn’t sure if the plans I’d made for the future, way back in January when I’d seen that unhappy person in the frame, were actually things that I wanted for myself, or if they were simply decisions based on expectations from my surroundings. I decided that instead of looking for a new job straight away, I would take a break from the world of computers and 24/7 availability for a while, and I would try to regroup.
As someone paying off a mortgage on her own for the past eight years, who had been in crazy debt for a good few of those years, I was always worried about making sure I had a steady income. The concept of not having a salary terrified me, but I decided to try to conquer that fear and take advantage of the wonderful thing known as “unemployment” for a while, instead of rushing headlong into another job. Wanderlust is a huge part of the lives of many Israelis, and people suggested that I should go traveling for a bit before starting to look for a new job, as that is, after all, what most of my friends who lost or quit their jobs often ended up doing. I’d never really had the luxury to travel before, monetary issues were always in the way, as well as health issues due to a weak back. I’d never even allowed myself to imagine the places I might go to if I had the chance, so when I started thinking seriously about the idea of taking an even longer break and going traveling for a while, I surveyed some of my friends, just to start getting my brain thinking.
My six month plus adventure started at the end of October after a month or so of frantic preparations to try to get my life in order before I left, including fixing up my apartment, finding people to rent my place, an overnight stint in the emergency room, and the very welcome, early birth of my gorgeous nephew Lavi. Procrastination during that time resulted in a new photography website, http://www.tammysalomon.com, the platform for this blog. Petrified, I packed up all my belongings into boxes, bought myself a backpack and prepared myself as much as I could for six months on the road, my first ever extended trip at the ripe young age of thirty six. I bought myself a new mirrorless camera, my precious Sony a6000, realizing that carrying a big DSLR and lenses, wasn’t a good idea if I was backpacking with an already dubious back. Armed with the kit lens only (16-50mm) I set off on my big adventure.
As a photographer who loves to shoot what she sees, this trip has been a treasure box of opportunities for me. I wasn’t sure if I would continue with 52Frames while I was away, as I wasn’t sure I wanted the constraints of a theme and a weekly deadline, but so far I’m loving the challenge of finding a shot while “on location”. After a frustrating month of traveling with only the kit lens, which I found to be too limiting for travel photography, I finally caved and bought myself an 18-200mm lens and a “nifty fifty”. I’d love to add a wider lens to my collection, but considering I used up a huge chunk of my travel budget on the new lenses, and my backpack is alrady bursting at the seams, I think I’ll just have to make do with what I have. Learning how to shoot with my new mirrorless, after using a Nikon DSLR for the past six years, and various other SLRs for many years before, has been a huge learning curve for me, and there are positives and negatives to the experience. That being said, I’m loving the light-weight feel of the Sony, and I’m not sure I’ll be going back to my Nikon when I return to Israel in May.
My last shot of the year was taken in Sri Lanka, where I will be celebrating the start of the new year before heading back to India,and then on to South East Asia. Sitting on the balcony of the hotel in Ella, a picturesque little town nestled in the mountains of central Sri Lanka, with a stunning view of the valley known as Ella’s Gap, little Adam’s Peak on one side of the valley, and a gushing waterfall on the other, I sit and contemplate the year ahead. I’m three countries into my trip, with at least another five to go. I have added so experiences to my collection that I never imagined I ever would, challenging myself on the way, and learning a lot about myself and my limitations. I have met so many different people, and seen so many different things, and will be processing all that I am learning for years to come. My journey this year has been a wild one, full of ups and downs and in-betweens, documented in part in my photographs, and mainly in myself.
My 52Frames journey in 2014 has been a similar one. I started the year as a member of the committee, standing down in June due to personal reasons and at the same time, contemplating leaving the project altogether, which I am ultimately glad that I didn’t do. I was intensely involved with the project, coordinating the worldwide photowalks and running the Jerusalem walks. I worked on the monthly newsletter for a time, to help lighten the load on those in charge, and supported and encouraged through stressful times. I spent most of my time with fellow framers, and most of my life revolved around 52Frames. In the middle of the year I realized I needed to take a step back, as being too involved seemed to be detrimental to my photography, as it was causing me to question my abilities as a photographer, instead of helping me to grow. Taking a step back was a tough decision, but a good one and I’m glad I did it, as I feel that I have benefited from the decision, and so has my photography.
As 52Frames steps into its fifth, and biggest year yet, I wish Yosef and Shaia lot of luck with their huge plans for the project, and look forward to seeing what’s in store for all the participants and followers. As 2015 rolls around for all of us, and a new year of 52Frames begins, I think of what is to come this year for me and I’m excited for it all, both the known and unknown. Once again, the first theme for the year is “Self Portrait”. It’s still as daunting as ever, and I’ll probably procrastinate over my shot until the last minute, hoping and praying that when I finally do take the shot, that I’ll manage to find some decent internet reception to actually be able to submit it. I start the year with a different perspective from last year, with different eyes, and a different viewpoint that I see reflected both in the photographs I have been posting on my travels and in my weekly submissions. I hope to enhance and grow as I experience and learn, and wish for all everyone an equally creative and inspiring year. I’m already anticipating looking back at 2015’s album and reviewing this coming year’s journey. It promises to be an exciting one!
