2012 LENSCRATCH Mother's Day Exhibition

2012 LENSCRATCH Mother’s Day Exhibition by Aline SmithsonMay 13, 2012

To the women who have given us life, given us love,

pushed us forward, tried their best,

nurtured and noticed who we are,

we love and thank you.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

©Jane Fulton Alt, Broken Eggs, Evanston, Illinois

©Sally DeFord, Family Picture, Grand Junction, Colorado

In this family picture mom is my age, with twice as many kids and
looking beautiful. Becoming a mother has helped me relate to my own
mother in many ways and I’m constantly grateful for her hand in my
happy childhood.

©Lauren Greenwald, Day One, Atlanta, Georgia

A lesser seen image from the day of the birth of my niece… lost amid the sea of sentimental images taken that day.

For my sister Jenna, the youngest of three sisters, and the first of us to become a mother.

Curtis Koshimizu, Mom (front left), Grandma, Uncle, Auntie,Gila Internment camp, Arizona. 1942/43

Mom was raised in Gila Internment camp, Arizona. 1942-1945.

Grandmother experienced many hardships through life, but she never stopped smiling.

This year, 2012, Grandmother will celebrate her 100th birthday.

Aaron Hobson, the switch-a-roo, Erie, Pennsylvania

my father photographing me and my mom (and her husband who recently passed away from cancer) with a Widelux camera during one of many handoffs of me for shared custody. Mom lived in Rochester, Dad in Pittsburgh, so they’d meet in Erie, PA at the halfway point every once in a while. Sadly, it seems that a lot of my memories with mom revolve around goodbyes.

Mary Rafferty, Celebrating Mimi, Chicago, IL
My mother passed away over 20 years ago but I have been blessed to have a Mother-in-law who is one of my best friends. Mimi is the name she gave herself so the grandkids could pronounce it easy and hopefully be one of their first words. She spends most of her time celebrating everyone close to her except for in this rare moment with the 6 out of 7 of her grandchildren.

©Catharine Amato, Mum and Bruce, Tuscany Italy

©Deena Feinberg, Some Things Never Change, Woodstock, NY

Andrea Harnick Tuchman, Pond, Westchester, NY

As self portrait of her mother, submitted by FeFe Tuchman in honor

of her mother

©Patty Lemke, One Year Later, Mission Hills, CA

Kathleen Laraia McLaughlin, Mama mea in Maramures, Sarbi, Romania

©Yvette Meltzer, The Circle will not be Unbroken, Chicago, Illinois

4 generations of Mother-daughter pairings: In each the Mother is on the left, and the daughter on the right, beginning with the top image of my Maternal Grandmother and my Mother, followed by my Mother and me and then me, the mother, with my daughter. Of note, I couldn’t locate any photos of more than the 2 generations together: not grandmother, mother and me nor my mother as grandmother, with me and my daughter.

©Hannah Kozak, My Mother and a Doll, Los Angeles, CA

At the age of forty-one, over thirty years ago, my mother began living in the facility. A few years ago I asked my mother, “Que quieres”? “what would you like”? “Que todo la gente este bien.” Without hesitation she answered, “May all people be well.”

©Sherif Elhage, MAMA, Estonia

©Maria Gjonaj, Letting Go Holding On, Albany, NY

This image is a rare moment of tenderness that we shared shortly before she died–taken with my iPhone. I honor her because there were enough moments when I did get to experience her true essence of light and compassion—and that’s what I am gradually choosing to emphasize in my memory of her—while giving less attention and power to the memories of her woundedness that obscured who she really was.

©Cynthia Henebry, My grandmother on her bed, Alexandria, Louisiana

My beloved and brilliant grandmother, the matriarch to end all matriarchs.

©Cynthia Wood, Son-in-law, Oceanside, OR

There are at least two mothers in this photo, and while neither of them are my mother, I have always been very fond of this photo that I took at the wedding of my ex-boyfriend’s sister (her parents –their parents– are pictured in the far background). So in a way this is a picture of my family — not my immediate, blood-bound kin, but a family who was and still is a part of my life. In fact this story will get another chapter in June when my ex-boyfriend, who is also/still my friend, will get married to his girlfriend of several years back in Toledo, OH; I’ve been invited to their wedding, too, but unfortunately I don’t think I will be able to make the trip.

©Mariana González, Mom baking empanadas, Santiago, Chile

I love how mom bears with me and my camera in her kitchen, and how she plays along when I ask her to do certain poses (and, specially, how requests for cheesy poses make her laugh).

©Charlene Hardy, First Born, Kennewick, WA

©Andrea Boscardin, The Bride’s Mother, Bangladesh

The wake: tonight his daugther will move to another house,

to another life, with a man that she didn’t
know before today.

©Patricia A. Bender, Bow and Tee, Iowa City, Iowa

This is my mother.

She was my best friend.

I love her and miss her with every breath.

©Alaina Dall, Sign of Play, San Diego, CA

My nieces have just become interested in sign language, something my sister does as she helps families with an infant or toddler recently diagnosed with hearing loss. This moment not only shows a mother passing on knowledge to her daughters, but also reminding them to “play,” which is the meaning of this sign.

©Lisa Folino, A Mermaid for Mother, Santorini/Florida

©Marla H Bane, My Grandparent’s 25th Anniversary Luncheon,

Paterson, New Jersey

3 Generations – Lois (Mom), Fannie (Great-grandmother) and Beatrice (Grandmother) June 10, 1953

©Mary Economidy, Mother, Galveston,Texas

©Debbie Poulin, My Daughter and Granddaughter. Love Yawns. Nottingham, UK,

©Elisabetta Cociani, Natalia, Russia

©Sandra Klein, Repetition, Los Angeles, CA

©Arianna Sanesi, B. and E., Italy

One of the strongest and sweetest mothers (and friends) I know.

©Barbara J. Dombach, Mothers, Lancaster County, PA

Image from my project, “Grandmothers Secrets,” with images and excerpts from her Diary’s 1915-1955. I am a wet plate collodion photographer and in this image I am holding a photograph of my mother (one left) and a photograph of my Grandmother (on right).
Both of their original photographs were taken when they were about the same age.

©Susan Spiritus, My parents, Ida & Henry Miller, November 5, 1966 on the occasion of their daughter’s (Susan Miller Spiritus) wedding.

Clearly they were celebrating this happy day!

I am sending this photograph of my parents, honoring them, on the occasion of their respective birthdays this week. What better way to say Happy Birthday.

©Tama Hochbaum, Adele, 1930’s, New York, NY

My mom, Adele Hochbaum, died in the early hours of February 22, 2012. We were connected in a way that was much closer than what the physical distance between us (from New York to North Carolina) would imply. I miss her terribly.

©Jennifer Hynes, The Protective Gaze, Inis Oirr Island, Ireland

With one eye on her calf and the other on strangers, she positions herself between her baby and any possible threats. It’s a relatable action that transcends both words and species.

©Karen Carson, Portrait of Doris, Rockford, IL

I believe this portrait was taken just before she and my father were married in 1940. My mother did not enjoy good health most of her life and so in many pictures you could see that she did not feel well. But I think she looks beautiful in this portrait.

©Sarah Katz, Borders (my grandmother), London, UK

©Andrea Harnick Tuchman, Rock N’ Roll, New York, N.Y.

©Dianne Duenzl, Nursing Baby, Brooklyn, NY

©Jane Paradise, Two Weeks Before, New Britain, CT

My mother died this past March – 17 days after I took this photo. In going through her papers she left a note saying “I tried my best.” And she did. And we all should.

©Goseong Choi, Her Mirror, Yong-In, South Korea

From the series, “Umma”

This photo was taken in Jan 2011 when her mother was passed away.

©Vicki Hunt, Pinup, vintage photos

Mother was the essence of glamour. She filled the room wherever she went, and her best advice was “The key to life is lipstick!”

©Emma Kisiel, Mother, Western New York

©Panos Lambrou, My Mother, Port Said, Egypt

©Jerry Jividen, Cancer Should Not Have Picked on My Mother, Marion, Ohio

©Chris Walker, Joy, Essex, Vermont

©Sylvia de Swaan, Rene & Polona

My submission for Mother’s Day is a picture I took in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 1999. It’s of the artist Rene Rusjan, a single mother with her daughter Polona, who is holding a drawing she once made of her dream family, which would consist of a mother, father and two children all living together.

You’re an incredible woman and I am so fortunate to have you in my life. Thank you for all that you do and your unconditional ability to love. I love you.

One of the thirty-seven images in my photographic memoir currently exhibited at the Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA. My mother and I were about to immigrate from Germany to Wisconsin, where we were joining my new American stepfather. The war years had been extraordinarily difficult for everyone, and my mother was no exception. We were eagerly looking forward to our new lives.

My daughter, Martha, and my Mother were “two peas in a pod!” Here they are on my Mother’s 90th birthday, just days after she broke her hip and then suffered a stroke.

The image on the left contains a family portrait – I’m the baby and I’m pictured with my folks, grandparents, etc. The image on the right is me and my Pop. The image is from a series called The Family Home, about the house my father grew up in.

My mother survived Auschwitz.

She always complained about getting shorter as she got older so for her 80th birthday I photographed her from a low angle and filled the frame to show her she was a giant in my eyes.

Ten months later she passed away.

Screen shot taken on 2010-12-10 at 17.22.51 during our long (Skype) conversation

My beautiful Nan is one of the most inspirational people that I know, she stays happy no matter what life throws at her! This picture captures her at her best, being wonderful!!!