the Stephens

Annah and Elton

Annah and Kate in the school room

Charley and Laura, Sunday afternoon

Halloween neighborhood Trick or Treat

Charley and Kate watching "Enchanted"

Kate and her friend, Eileen

Laura and Kate, before lunch

Laura and Kate, math lesson

Saturday raking

Sam and Charley, Sunday chess game

Last fall, I had the opportunity to photograph a local homeschool family for my documentary film class, a semester long project. This is the final portfolio of prints, shot on my Canon AE-1 with Tri-X film. Below is an excerpt from my statement:
"While my original focus was on the academic aspect of homeschooling, I soon discovered that homeschooling a family is much deeper and richer than education. It is about intimate relationships between parents and their children. Everyone is with each other all the time. It means playing pretend in the car because it was raining during horse back riding lessons. Sometimes it meant spending Sundays watching movies in the special princess tent because everyone is under the weather. In the end, my focus shifted to capturing the Stephens’ family dynamic and their relationships with each other within the context of homeschooling. A homeschooled family is a tight knit family, but it is not exclusive. There is room for activities and friends. By documenting the Stephens for a semester, I had the opportunity to step into their lives and see what it was like for a family to live and learn together as a collective unit."

Fall 2013