COLLECTING MEMORIES
by KELSEY VANSICKLE
Published on 20.10.21When I’m asked the question, “How did you get into film photography?” my mind shoots back in time to my childhood. I would spend countless hours flipping through the pages of my parents and grandparents’ old photo albums. I’d rummage through albums and boxes finding a picture of my dad, early 80’s, cooking on the barbecue in a retro Toronto Maple Leafs ball cap. I’d find a polaroid of my mom proudly sitting at her new desk at the mortgage firm she had just been hired at. I’d find photo after photo of a life that they had lived before I was born. How wonderful my younger self thought this was. How wonderful to have these tangible photographs to hold in my hands, and how wonderful to catch a glimpse of their existence in this world. I guess I could say I got into film photography by being a curious child sifting through the memories of those that came before me.
Photographs are a connection, they are a direct link to the past. They were meaningful to me as a child and that meaning drove me towards wanting a camera of my own. Once I started shooting on my first film camera in 2017 — a Minolta SRT100 — I immediately began printing my photos and archiving them in photo albums. Just as my parents and grandparents had done before me. Ever so often I pick one of my albums up and flip through the pages of my past. I see all the places I have been, the people I have loved, and a life filled with so much colour and joy. I often look at photography as an ongoing conversation between the past and the present. This conversation ignites a compulsion within me to collect, to share, to connect and to archive. I believe this sharing and connecting is a huge part of what makes us human, as we can relate to others through witnessing their experiences and relating them to our own. There is a transfer that happens when we share what we photograph as if we hold ourselves out on a platter for the world to devour, no matter how big or small our worlds may be.
“If his work hadn’t been shared, or if he had never put himself in that vulnerable place of putting his photographs out into the world, then perhaps I would have never discovered him. And what a pity that would have been ”
I recently purchased a few Photography Annual Magazines from the 50’s and 60’s, filled with incredible works from some of the most outstanding photographers. An American Photographer by the name of Kenneth Van Sickle caught my eye in one of the editions, as we share the same last name. This was a strange coincidence considering my last name is somewhat unique. I spent an entire afternoon totally consumed, deep diving into his work. I discovered black and white photographs of Paris and New York in the 50’s and a myriad of other beautiful images created in a lifetime. I was in complete awe looking through his website. I purchased his book ‘Photography 1954-2009’, and I felt compelled to write him a letter expressing my appreciation for his lifetime of work.
A few weeks later he responded to my letter, humble as can be, and even shared with me a photograph of his that he had recently re-discovered after looking through his old contacts and negatives. How special this was to me. If his work hadn’t been shared, or if he had never put himself in that vulnerable place of putting his photographs out into the world, then perhaps I would have never discovered him. And what a pity that would have been. This is a perfect example of why I love Photography so much. All of us humans existing and experiencing life in our own way, documenting our present by looking through a lens at a moment in time and sharing that moment with others.. It’s absolute magic.
(selected works by Ken Van Sickle)
The internet, social media and Instagram in particular have opened up a massive platform for community and sharing. Since joining the Shoot Film team in January of 2020 I’ve been able to contribute to this platform in more ways than one. I get to curate photographs from some of the best film photographers from all over the world. I get to archive, I get to collect, and best of all I get to connect with all of you by sharing the works of strangers with other strangers, although strangers is far from what we are.
The film photography community is full of artists and creatives who at one point or another just picked up a film camera for the very first time. We have all reached out to others at some point to ask for advice. We have all searched on youtube or been shown how to load a roll of film into our cameras. We have all been amateurs, and we’ve all helped one another out through sharing this passion together. Friends and family are essentially who we have become. Curating for Shoot Film is my work and my contribution to facilitating and building community through the sharing of your memories, through the sharing of your photographs and through the sharing of your stories.
(selected works by Kelsey Vansickle)
I’d like to leave you with a quote that resonates with me from one of my favourite authors, Haruki Murakami. In his book ‘Kafka on The Shore’ he so eloquently writes:
“The pure present is an un-graspable advance of the past devouring the future. In truth, all sensation is already memory.”
Learn more about the historic works of Ken Van Sickle here:
website: www.kenvansickle.com
Kelsey Vansickle has been a curator for @shootfilmmag since January 2020
You can view more of Kelsey’s work here:
website: www.kelseyvansickle.com
instagram: @vnskl
