windows

My father and I watched “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” It was my second viewing, and I was again so moved by the gorgeous way the movie is filmed, primarily those scenes meant to represent the main character’s visual points of view. He is completely paralyzed, with the exception of the blinking ability of his one good eye. The scenes from his perspective are limited, in and out of focus and (for me, anyway) full of longing.

In this true story, Jean-Do Bauby, editor-in-chief at Elle Magazine, had a stroke and was left with a rare malady called “locked-in syndrome.” He couldn’t speak and couldn’t move, but learned to express himself by blinking his eye. (He actually dictated a book before he went on to die from pneumonia.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about his situation. There are, of course, endless ways to be “locked-in.”

My dad epitomizes someone who is determined not to be. It's inspiring to me.

These are photographs taken through the windows of our house in Kentucky, inspired by the movie, by the nostalgic feelings I have for the house I grew up in and for the love I feel for my father, who looks out through these windows everyday.