Live Through This
Written by John MacphersonLive Through This by Tony Fouhse and Stephanie MacDonald. A complex story about photojournalism and social responsibility, that is profoundly moving.
https://vimeo.com/61847183
Thanks Joerg Colberg for the book review on Conscientious which led me to notice this in the first place, and in which he said:
The project literally became a collaboration, both photographically and in terms of helping MacDonald through some very tough times. There were trips to hospitals, incl. a serious surgery, with Fouhse photographing and helping. If you followed the project on the photographer’s blog you could see there suddenly was a lot at stake. It wasn’t just about the photographs any longer, it was about this young woman’s life, quite literally so. And she got better – as did the photographs. The images transformed along with MacDonald, to acquire depth, to become more personal, to become a true collaboration.
Live Through This, the book that has resulted from this project lists two authors, Tony Fouhse as the photographer, and Stephanie MacDonald as the writer. This violates a lot of rules of what might be considered professional journalism, and the book shows what can be gained from doing that. The photographs give a visual record, and the writing – MacDonald’s, not Fouhse’s – directly speaks of trying to cope with drug addiction. As a result, the viewer will find it hard not to be moved.
I think one can only hope that at the end of a project one has become a better photographer than when one started out. But if there was something at stake, then one can also become not only a different, but a better person. And if that includes having truly helped a single person… I don’t know what else one could wish for.
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.