Narrative Project: Ije (Journey)

Artist's Statement/Reflection:

Journeys are inevitable for us to get from one point to the other. Often, riding the train or bus, especially on a long trip, reminds us of the much longer journey of our lives. For some it’s a journey to purpose, to self-discovery, to acceptance… to joy. Journeys are indelibly etched in our experiences, and what happens along the way is just as important, sometimes even more important, than the destination.

I chose the theme of a journey because once a month I find myself on an 8-hour journey to Pennsylvania, usually by train. I have come to love taking the train and find myself soothed by the way it meanders across the country, filling up and emptying out on the way. I find myself reflecting on my own life’s journey on these trips, grateful for where life has brought me. 

I had planned initially to shoot this project in black and white, fueled by the nostalgia that trains bring of olden times. However, when I looked again at my photos, I was drawn to all the ways in which color was expressed in the different shots, and how they amplified the overall mood of the journey. I have tried to build a simple narrative arc that follows the natural sequence of a road trip. 

Having a theme in mind before I started the trip was really helpful. Still, it was a bit of a panic to figure out exactly what the story should be, so I spent a lot of the journey just shooting anything that came to mind, which resulted in a lot of blurry shots, especially since I was on a moving bus and train. It however made me creative. I had to really dig deep into my inner Eggleston and find photos in the mundane on the trip, like the photos I ended up taking of the charging port with my phone plugged in. I also had to improvise a lot, using the bus seat in front of me as a tripod to try and get a sharp photo of the front windshield, for instance.

Technically, I struggled to reset my white balance in the middle of changing environments, and ended up with some really green or really blue shots. The light was also changing constantly, so I had to be quick to change my aperture and shutter speed. I also had to overcome the awareness that people around me would wonder what I was doing and may be uncomfortable with me pointing my camera in their direction. It was definitely a unique experience.

You will notice that photos of people in this project are usually blurred or silhouetted. This highlights transience and anonymity. Often people are moving quickly in and out of our path on the train as they try to make it to their own destinations. This is often also true in our lives. 

I would like to thank Leonie Marinovich for her gracious support and tutelage in this course. I am grateful to my course mates who have given advice, encouragement, and shared parts of their own journeys with me over the past semester. Thank you all, and as we come to the end of our journey together, I hope that the paths ahead of you are both exciting and fulfilling. 

As we say in my native language Igbo, “Ije oma” – Journey well. 

Narrative Photo Essay - Ije (Journey)