Photograph your past in the present // NOSTALGIA ON FILM

Returning home. It's been almost 10 years since I visited this place that once was something like home to me. I visited this rural area in Poland multiple times a year as a child and teen since a large part of my family lived there. Somehow I stopped coming when I turned 18. After this long time I finally decided to go back there and revisit all the emotional places that mean something to me. And of course: there is no better way to process feelings and emotions than through a creative process, in my case with a camera as my companion.

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[clarence]

U inspired me to go out to take pictures of my childhood area, schools and favourite hunts. Thanks so much.

[AndersKeisHansen]

Its a great video, with great pictures, and its all better with a story :) great work Karin

[MacnTeensVisuals]

This was really lovely to watch Karin, really nice photos and the idea behind it is so relatable. You will be so glad you made this in years to come.

[JamieMPhoto]

That was spectacular. Especially liked the night photos.

[sprocket_holes]

These images are as interesting as it gets, because they have a story, a feeling. I don't know the "random house" but I can feel it, and that what makes these images touching and amazing in a pure way. It's not the over poilshed "eye catching" but super boring Instagram look, and thank god for that :) This video is really special, thank you for sharing it with us.

[udojuergensen]

Das was man hier heute sieht, ist m. E. der wesentliche Kern, die Essenz von Fotografie: das Festhalten von Erinnerungen mit Licht. Die Dokumentation des Lebens, des Alltags…losgelöst von Regeln, Vorgaben oder technischem Schnickschnack. Danke dafür…

[andrewhowarth]

Karin, this might well be your best work yet. The mystery of the inner connections and memories are the very things that make these shots powerful and appealing to everyone. Beautiful, haunting, and mysterious are wonderful qualities that come through in virtually every image you captured here. I especially love that you don't explain or define. Beautiful, beautiful work, my friend! Andy

[calvinchann]

I believe that we, photographers, are here to document our world. Sure we may have other interests like landscape or sports, but our calling is to document our world a moment of our world. Even better if you can “go back in time” as it were to draw out your own memories. Where I grew up is no longer anything like that, so that is not available to me. Live it while you can and it’s quite alright if it only has meaning for you.

[otherSmallCities]

Ganz ehrlich, ich find das ist Dein bestes Video bis jetzt. Ich kann mich dem auch ganz gut verbunden fühlen. Ich bin zwar in der DDR aufgewachsen und das war natürlich anders als Polen vor 10/20 Jahren, aber die Orte, sind familiär.
Abgesehen davon ist es ja Deine Erfahrungswelt, sich hier einfach wiederspigelt. Und die Nähe die Du für uns Zuschauer erlaubst ist wirklich toll!
Danke Dir dafür

[umagico]

..würde sogar sagen, es sollten mehr Videos dieser Art sein...!!! 👏 👌 😊

[ErikFritz]

This is, by far, my favorite video of yours so far (and I’ve enjoyed your previous work!). It’s very filmic, thoughtful, and, above all, deeply personal. I very much believe that, in art, the personal is the only true universal. When we get too “in our heads” thinking about what others will like or find meaningful, we too often make choices that favor the vague, the general, and the generic. This video is grounded by your humanity, so while I didn’t spend any of my childhood in Poland — and sadly have never even been to Poland — this is work I can connect to on a very basic, very fundamental, and very human level.

[aminfarah]

i've been following your channel for a while now. first of all, congratulations that your posts stand out (most of the time) from the rest of the photo/analogue photography scene. i like your unagitated and unpretentious way of showing your world of photography.
your contribution about your nostalgic journey to the place of your childhood has produced, for my taste, your best photos so far. in any case, i think i can recognise your connection to this place in your photos.
i look forward to more...

[Saartekk]

UFF!! Woowww!! Ein sehr schönes, starkes und auch berührendes Video... Mich hat es mitgenommen... Meine Frau stammt aus einer Kleinstadt in Schlesien, Haben vor 7Jahren einmal eine Reise zur ihren Wurzeln gemacht, in der Sie mir ihre Ecken ihrer Kindheit gezeigt hat, wo Sie die ersten 6Jahren ihres Lebens verbracht hat... Für mich ein Kulturschock aber auch sehr schön gewesen. Die Landschaft, die Menschen, die Herzlichkeit, die Wir überall erfahren haben und auch das Essen... Hat auch mich sehr mitgenommen damals... Schade, dass ich damals noch nicht fotografiert^^, sondern nur mit dem Handy geknipst^^ habe... Werde ich bei der nächsten Reise definitiv anders machen...

[rickyzagalo]

Our memories are like a fantastic hot dish of soup, or any other comfort food, warms our mind and soul. And, like happens when we caught a smell in the air that, suddenly and unexpectedly, brings us long forgotten memories, image is the record of someone's memories per excellence and the photographer's role is a invaluable contribution to us, our families and society in general. Thanks to my Grandfather today our family enjoys a huge wealth of photographs and 8mm films, where we "meet" or remember our family members, environments and experiences, impossible to achieve if those films and photos don't exist. They allowed me to know my mother, not as a mother, but as a naughty and vivacious child, or my very young fathers on one of theirs first datings Those movies allowed a cousin's daughter, when I discovered her after 30 years missing, to meet for the first time, her father, grandparents and great-grandparents, interacting with her as a baby, on a familie color movie. Photography is an invaluable value, and so is our role. Karen, it's a very beautiful video, thanks

[emanuel.alvarez]

I really enjoyed this video. The power of photography that you can use to explore memories, the past, and your inner self. Also I think that I can see in the way you portraited this place that it really means something for you.

[williamburkholder]

GREAT video, Karin! 

I'm paraphrasing — you said that this was personal and might not be appealing to others. I think it is pretty universal. Human experience is quite similar all over the Western world. We all have much in common. 

I have similar connections to the places of my youth. The places you show aren't that different from rural communities in the Southern Piedmont region of North and South Carolina, here in the USA.

I have hundreds of photos that take me back to my childhood. Eight years ago, our family moved to the area where I spent ages 5-12. I had not returned in 47 years. It felt eerily the same and different. Even the house I grew up in looks the same as it did in 1960. The city has grown, but the feel is similar. Seeing my boys play soccer (futbol) in the same stadium where I saw my first high school football game in 1962 was bizarre.

So if photos help you connect with your past, know that they remind others of theirs! I recently assembled a 45 minute video "slide show" of still images from my college days. Our class reunion committee collected over 800 old photos from classmates. I digitized them from slides, negatives, and prints, converted them to 4K, and assembled them into a retrospective shown at our 45th year college reunion party. The response was overwhelming.

[michal_]

Ok, aż musiałem dwa razy sprawdzić czy nie włączyło mi się wideo z tle jak usłyszałem język polski :) Super film, nie wiedziałem, że masz polskie korzenie :)

[AlejandroGonzalez-AGS]

Very nostalgic video with great pictures Karin…lots of memories! Thanks for sharing. Be safe, Cheers..

[davidhilhorst]

My favorite video of yours yet, precisely because it was so personal and nostalgic. Having spent a lot of my childhood in a tiny town in the countryside of France, your experience resonates a lot with me. Some things change, some things stay the same, sometimes it’s hard to place your memories in those changed spaces. The pictures also turned out wonderful! Thank you for sharing 🌱

[wojtekscibor]

you triggered a nostalgia in my head and I loved the way you made this video! thanks a lot! dziekuje :)