This project, "Family Outing", is about my family at play, weekends together and outings at the lake. I have always taken photographs on family vacations. This collection of images are from the same place, recorded over a period of time from 1973 to the present.
Besides boating, skiing, fishing and hiking, there was gun play, target
practice and trap shooting. Guns were always around; They were part of the landscape and integrated into our lifestyle. The images in the photographic grid were taken in 1994 and 1995.
A recurring theme throughout the photographs was a familiar distance between myself and family. Both as an observer and a participant, I saw the shaping of appearances and contradictions. Vacations are a time of bonding and relaxation. Journal entry, "The memory of trying to relax - floating on rafts - dry heat; the stillness of the desert, interrupted by the inconsistent popping of guns behind our camp."
Each time I visit the family at the lake, I am continually being informed that the underlying feeling was fear; it was unspoken and never questioned. Guns and vacation went together in a normal way. "Family outing", is a new look at my family history and years of experience at this place.
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