Show Navigation

Elizabeth Dalziel

  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archive
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area

Elizabeth Dalziel

All Galleries
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x
Download

21 images Created 26 Apr 2017

SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS

It was in Kenya, photographing Masai mothers and children, where I was struck by the power of the familiar and the mundane.
By then I had spent most of the last 20 years working as a journalist, photographing everything from street battles in the West Bank to meetings of world leaders.
But over a couple of weeks amid the rugged landscape and the cattle-herding families, I began to wonder: Why did I think mothers here were worthy of being documented and not the mothers in my own community?
I realized I had turned a blind eye to the complex story right next to me: in the school runs, the trips to the store, the swimming lessons and the countless birthday parties. It is the world I navigate every day with my two young sons. Every couple of days, for instance, we stop at the supermarket, and there’s the battle to get the boys into the shopping cart. I take them through the aisles and navigate my options: Shreddies? Cheerios? The store brand? My thoughts crisscross with the shouts of brothers tugging at each other and at what they can grab from the shelves. I started to ask myself: Should this be forgotten? Isn’t this worthy of being photographed?
I was exhausted by the daily marathon of motherhood. Ten breast feedings a day had made photography at home a low priority.
Children and mothers inhabit a place that until a few years ago I didn’t know existed. Now my days are spent with costumed storm troopers patrolling my hallways. My evenings are filled with dinners and bath times and bedtime reading and tantrums and so much else. Taking pictures makes me stop and look.
Now I think of the moments that I’ve already lost: the births, the early baby years. The ambulance trip we took in the middle of night after my younger son, Joe, held his breath and fainted. I had seen my share of dead babies in war zones by then. I had photographed them. But when my own child went white, his lips blue, his body limp, I did not reach for my camera. I reached for the phone to call for an ambulance. He was fine by the time it arrived, but the medics still insisted he go to the hospital.
Photography and motherhood both offer lessons in loss. As a photographer, there is the loss of so many moments that you fail to capture. As a mother, there is the loss of personal space, of modesty, of identity. This work has allowed me to see how my life is reflected in so many other lives. I take a photo of handprints etched on the glass of the window, set against the afternoon sun, and another mother talks to me of her own life, her own choices, her own son’s handprints.
During all those years I chased wars and summits I thought my work was personal. Only now do I see that I was always one step removed. Now the personal is obvious. There’s no need to claim journalistic objectivity. Here, in these photographs, are my frustrations, joys and insecurities with the choices I’ve made as a journalist and a mother. Here is the drama, beauty and humor of my backyard.
View: 100 | All

Loading ()...

  • Ben plays with his bath toys at home in Berkhamsted, England  Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Joe explores a model village in Beaconsfield, England   Tuesday, April 14, 2015. Children and mothers inhabit a strange place that until a few years ago I didn’t know existed. Even as I child I was oblivious to it. Now my days are spent with costumed Storm Troopers patrolling my hallways. My evenings are filled with dinners and bath times and bedtime reading and tantrums and so much else.  This is my new normal, and taking pictures makes me stop and look. This project has let me see photographs where before I thought there were none. It has allowed me to see the universality of my life and how it is reflected in so many other lives.(Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Ben plays shadow puppets with his Allosaurus model at story time before going to bed in Berkhamsted, England   Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015. Children and mothers inhabit a strange place that until a few years ago I didn’t know existed. Even as I child I was oblivious to it. Now my days are spent with costumed Storm Troopers patrolling my hallways. My evenings are filled with dinners and bath times and bedtime reading and tantrums and so much else.  This is my new normal, and taking pictures makes me stop and look. This project has let me see photographs where before I thought there were none. It has allowed me to see the universality of my life and how it is reflected in so many other lives. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Joe lifts his arms towards daddy before jumping in to the pool at his swimming lesson in Aylesbury, England  Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015  It was in Kenya, on an assignment photographing Masaai mothers and children, where I was reminded of the power of the familiar and the mundane. Amid the rugged landscapes and the cattle-herding families whose lives still revolve around ancient rhythms, I began to wonder about my own attitudes. Why did I think mothers in this different and exotic environment were worthy of being documented? Why did I think motherhood in my own world lacked that luster? Why is the remote more valuable to a photographer than the world right around them?  And I realized I had turned a blind eye to the profound, complex story right next to me: in the school runs, the trips to the store, the swimming lessons and the countless birthday parties and field trips. <br />
It is the world I navigate every day with my two young sons. This project has let me see photographs where before I thought there were none. It has allowed me to see the universality of my life and how it is reflected in so many other lives. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • A parent dressed in a Bunny suit guards the goal post during the Easter School Fair in Berkhamsted  Saturday, March 28, 2015 (Elizabeth Dalziel)  Children and mothers inhabit a strange place that until a few years ago I didn’t know existed. Even as I child I was oblivious to it. Now my days are spent with costumed Storm Troopers patrolling my hallways. My evenings are filled with dinners and bath times and bedtime reading and tantrums and so much else.  This is my new normal, and taking pictures makes me stop and look. This project has let me see photographs where before I thought there were none. It has allowed me to see the universality of my life and how it is reflected in so many other lives.#thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Ben dressed as Darth Vader looks on as Arty Smarty the clown entertains children at his 5th birthday party at the town hall in Ivinghoe, Saturday, March 14,  2016.  It was in Kenya, on an assignment photographing Masaai mothers and children, where I was reminded of the power of the familiar and the mundane. Amid the rugged landscapes and the cattle-herding families whose lives still revolve around ancient rhythms, I began to wonder about my own attitudes. Why did I think mothers in this different and exotic environment were worthy of being documented? Why did I think motherhood in my own world lacked that luster? Why is the remote more valuable to a photographer than the world right around them?  And I realized I had turned a blind eye to the profound, complex story right next to me: in the school runs, the trips to the store, the swimming lessons and the countless birthday parties and field trips. It is the world I navigate every day with my two young sons. This project has let me see photographs where before I thought there were none. It has allowed me to see the universality of my life and how it is reflected in so many other lives.
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • On our school we came across  the paperboy's bike lying on the floor after being hit by a car in Berkhamsted, England Monday, March 2, 2015  Photography and motherhood both offer lessons in loss. As a photographer, there is the loss of so many moments that you fail to capture. As a mother, there is the loss of personal space, of modesty, of identity.This project has let me see photographs where before I thought there were none. It has allowed me to see the universality of my life and how it is reflected in so many other lives.(Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Ben plays hide and seek under his brother's pram at the chemist in Berkhamsted Wednesday, March 25, 2015.  It was in Kenya, on an assignment photographing Masaai mothers and children, where I was reminded of the power of the familiar and the mundane. Amid the rugged landscapes and the cattle-herding families whose lives still revolve around ancient rhythms, I began to wonder about my own attitudes. Why did I think mothers in this different and exotic environment were worthy of being documented? Why did I think motherhood in my own world lacked that luster? Why is the remote more valuable to a photographer than the world right around them?  And I realized I had turned a blind eye to the profound, complex story right next to me: in the school runs, the trips to the store, the swimming lessons and the countless birthday parties and field trips. <br />
It is the world I navigate every day with my two young sons. This project has let me see photographs where before I thought there were none. It has allowed me to see the universality of my life and how it is reflected in so many other lives. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • An injured shark toy lies broken on a shelf during bath time in Berkhamsted, England   Monday May 18, 2015. Children and mothers inhabit a strange place that until a few years ago I didn’t know existed. Even as I child I was oblivious to it. Now my days are spent with costumed Storm Troopers patrolling my hallways. My evenings are filled with dinners and bath times and bedtime reading and tantrums and so much else.  This is my new normal, and taking pictures makes me stop and look.
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Ben dressed as a storm trooper heads back from an Easter egg hunt in Northchurch in England Saturday, April 4, 2015 (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Bubbles go flat before the boys's bath at home in Berkhamsted in England Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Ben wears his homework ( a cardboard space rocket) in to school in Berkhamsted, England Monday, March 16, 2015 (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Joe plays with his toy car next to a commuter on the train to London, England   Tuesday March 3, 2015. Children and mothers inhabit a strange place that until a few years ago I didn’t know existed. Even as I child I was oblivious to it. Now my days are spent with costumed Storm Troopers patrolling my hallways. My evenings are filled with dinners and bath times and bedtime reading and tantrums and so much else.  This is my new normal, and taking pictures makes me stop and look.
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Ben and Joe help select breakfast cereal from their supermarket trolley at the local Tesco grocery store in Tring, England Monday February 23, 2015. Every couple days we stop at the supermarket, and there's the battle to get the the boys in to the supermarket trolley. Should this be forgotten? Is this worthy of being photographed? <br />
I take them through the aisles and navigate my options: Shredies? Cheerios? The cheaper store brand? My thoughts criss-cross with the shouts of brothers tugging at one another, and at what they can grab from the shelves. Ben reaches for a box , amazingly bypasses “Monster Puffs” and clutches a very large box of Weatabix “This one Mummy!” he insists. This project has let me see photographs where before I thought there were none. It has allowed me to see the universality of my life and how it is reflected in so many other lives.
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Joe reaches for the biscuit tray at a party in  Berkhamsted, England Saturday, April 18, 2015 (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Joe is upset after he is refused a drill while Mum builds a planter for the garden in Berkhamsted, England Sunday, April 12, 2015 (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Ben's favourite meal of fish fingers is set for dinner in Berkhamsted, England  Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015 (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Joe eats a plate of spaghetti during dinner at home in Berkhamsted, England  Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016 (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Ben, wearing a Yoda knitted hat, runs to the car after school pick up in Berkhamsted, England Wednesday, March 25, 2015 (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • Children's footsteps and scooter tracks mark a snow covered school playground in Berkhamsted, England   Thursday Jan. 29, 2015. Children and mothers inhabit a strange place that until a few years ago I didn’t know existed. Even as I child I was oblivious to it. Now my days are spent with costumed Storm Troopers patrolling my hallways. My evenings are filled with dinners and bath times and bedtime reading and tantrums and so much else.  This is my new normal, and taking pictures makes me stop and look.
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG
  • A Halloween display is set up in a post world war home at the Chiltern Open Air Museum in Little Chalfont, England Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015 (Elizabeth Dalziel) #thesecretlifeofmothers #bringinguptheboys #dailylife
    THE SECRET LIFE OF MOTHERS CONTACT P...JPG