This project is the culmination of the past year, and my time as the Life Images Intern. An extension of the Life Images Portrait Events, the Life Images Internship is one academic year, where a student photographer from WCC regularly visits the Rogel Cancer Center. During that time, they shadow art and music therapists. Visiting patients throughout the hospital, they offer photography as another way to cope with their time in the cancer process, and to capture moments that deserve to be honored.
- Dylan Cabildo
past interns
what is life images?
Life Images of Today and Tomorrow is a partnership between The Washtenaw Community College Photography Program and The University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center. This program aims to provide complimentary portrait photography for cancer patients of the UM Health System at our portrait session events held twice a year. Originally held in a small room at the Cancer Center, these portrait events quickly grew and have now moved to take place at the larger WCC Photo Lab.
Photo: Life Images Portrait Session Volunteers
Words of Life
With the spread of COVID-19 escalating just at the end of my time as intern, the project had to take a drastic turn. So rather than being able to share my work in a gallery at the hospital, I have shifted to an online gallery to share with the world.
Initially the project would share and honor some captured moments from the past year, and pair those images with hand written notes, thoughts, or sayings from the patients about their time at the hospital going through the process of cancer treatment. However, due to confidentiality and limitation of access to images of patients, I have decided to take those words from the patients and pair them with work of my own that is not from my time at the hospital.
The goal of the following project, is to put an emphasis on the patient, and choose images and editing styles that highlight their personal expressions of experience, either symbolically or otherwise. To put the spotlight on these brave individuals.
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"You have to find the divine in the secular... it takes more than just science..."
- Percy
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"They that wait upon the lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint."
- Isaiah 40:31
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
- Psalms 23
Finding comfort through scripture was a very common theme I found throughout my time in the hospital. Upon entering a patient's room I would find quoted verses taped to walls, or frequent references to the Bible in conversation. Some patients felt such a connection to these verses that they submitted them to me as their quotes.
Isaiah 40:31 submitted by Ron
Psalm 23 submitted by Carrie
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"My cord blood transplant has been lengthy and daunting... Nobody told me I would be here for 16 weeks."
- Bernard
This patient was someone who I visited multiple times throughout my time in the hospital. And the power of these words was very touching to me, because they were coming from such a positive man. Someone who seemed to always focus on the positive when talking about his situation. Hearing him open up about the reality of his process was eye opening.
And he felt a strong urge to share with others about the difficulty of his time in the hospital. These struggles were a common thread throughout many patients stories. It is not an easy journey by any means, and this patient wanted to share this sobering warning so that others might not be blindsided.
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"Catching Wind!"
- Ernie
For some, the most difficult part of the process of cancer treatment is limited access to their favorite hobbies. And for this patient it was "catching wind." His loving term for his favorite past time of running.
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Maybe this is a feeling that you or I have experienced as of late? A desire to return to the things we love. Our experience in quarantine is just a minuscule glimpse into the lives of these, and many other, patients who have had their 'normal' ripped away from them forever. And we need to remember that while we will be able to return to our normal; some cancer patients never will...
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*Some names have been changed to protect the identities of those who participated in this project.