Where the Heart Is

Sally Mann said, "The things that are close to you are the things you can photograph the best." I think not only are those photos the best, but maybe they compose a majority of your subject matter. I know that's true for me.
I may not always brag about my home town, because, honestly, it's an itty-bitty tourist trap. But it's also the only home I knew for 18 of my 19 years of life. Home is where my memories are: where I learned to ski, where I learned to love nature, where I learned to love photography-- initially. It's where my parents are, my grandparents, my dogs, and my cat, my house. It's  all in Leadville. Now that I'm starting to think about the composition of my final project, I'm starting to notice something else: home is where my photos are, both digital and film. I have other photos, sure. But, somehow, Leadville has been in every single project I've submitted this quarter in some way or another. Having noticed this, I've decided that will be the focal point of my last project. I'm going to incorporate photos of my home: my parents, my house, my town, all of it.
The people that are in your life long-term never really change in your mind. They look the same from your earliest memories to the last second. They change, but when you see them every day, the changes are so gradual that you always see the exact same person. My mom hasn't changed in my eyes since I can remember. I feel the same way about my home town. It's essentially a sleepy little mountain town. Nothing ever changed. That's part of why I felt like I had to get out of there when I graduated, but it's also why I love going back. It may look different now, when I return after a month or more from Denver, but it's always going to be home. I can count on that.

My heart is in photography, and you know what they say: home is where the heart is.