Special Feature: ‘Alison’ by ph. Jack Radcliffe

Story: ‘Alison’
Photography: Jack Radcliffe, www.jackradcliffe.org

I saw this series a while ago and I was blown away. It is an incredible visual journey of a photographer’s daughter throughout her life. I came across the story again recently and I had to share it. Below is a short introduction from the photographer.

“When my daughter Alison was born, in the tradition of a new parent, I began to photograph her, initially in a separate and private body of work. However, in the process of documenting Alison’s growth, I developed a passionate interest in human relationships and capturing intimate moments in the lives of family and friends.

This affected my photography in a profound way. Rather than the isolated subjects of my earlier work, I became interested in the strength of relationships, oftentimes using personal environments to amplify those conditions.

My photographs of Alison, because of the nature of our relationship, are very much a father-daughter collaboration-Alison permitting me access to private moments of our life, which might, under different circumstances, be off-limits to a parent. The camera, early in her life, became part of our relationship, necessitating in me an acceptance, a quietness. We’ve never had long photographic sessions, but rather moments alone or with friends.

The significance of these pictures emerges in retrospect. I realize as I look at them, that I created a visual life story of Alison, capturing moments in her metamorphosis from infant to woman-her relationships with friends, her rebellion, and underlying it all, her relationship with me, a constant throughout her life. I wanted to photograph her in all her extremes, and to be part of these times in her life without judging or censoring. Only in this way would I have a true portrait of Alison.”
-Jack Radcliffe

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There are many more images from this series over at www.jackradcliffe.org. Make sure you also see the ‘Alison Redux’ series.