I have the privilege of being able to continue to photograph Beast, Buddy, Icky, Lizzie, and Kitty or otherwise known as the Bassette children, and will get to photograph them again during hunting season this year. I'm no longer photographing this project for the newspaper, but for the simple purpose to see where the story will lead. I honestly have no plans for the story as of yet, but am excited to see what I will end up doing with it.

For now, it is really become a forum for me to try new things in my photography. In a way, the project has become a collaboration between the subjects and photographer. Not only do I show them the work in progress often, but I also am able to hear their viewpoint about what it was first like to have me come in and photograph their life, what they thought how how they were made comfortable with my presence.

I think the subject of how involved ones subjects become in ones work is not discussed nearly as much as it should, as usually the question is how much one should become involved in their subject's lives. If I am working on a long-term story, I will sometimes show an edit of my work to my subjects. Now, this can get tricky, but what I will do is explain to them that the edit they give will not be my final edit, but their edit is rather helping me understand their story more. They will often point out important things in photos that I would have not chosen in the first place. In this way, I am taking myself out of the story more, and letting my subjects really tell the story.

I know some of you who read this may think otherwise, or agree, and I'd like to hear what you have to think about this idea.