THE COLLECTION HISTORY, MY APPROACH & INTENTIONS
MY STORY SO FAR...
I was born and raised IN the southern Puget sound area of Washington State which is a region OF THE GREAT Salish sea OF THE pacific northwest, this environment AND ITS PEOPLE ARE THE BASIS AND REASON FOR MY LOVE OF our history which come alive in photographs.
Photography is witnessing ~ and what is captured in a photograph is a moment in time that we enjoy privately or share as visual communication. Visual communication is a form of telepathy. We are now beginning to communicate more visually and without language. which came first if you think about it. thousands of years before the written word and even language. with the advent of cell phones with small cameras in our hands this form of communication has exploded.
My career has been primarily in the Humanities, Communications, and Pacific Northwest History. I've been involved in photography since childhood, and I've worked in all professions in communications, choosing photojournalism - and my specialty for the last 40 years has been as a photo-historian and creator.
I love the fact that The people and places in photographs existed. There are many stories shown in the photographs still to be told And I'm excited because the time is ripe to 'review' our history and these photographs tell us stories of our past.
Personally, I have a spiritual connection to this area, and I've seen it change in my lifetime dramatically, so I support the people & companies that are working toward similar goals of protecting our environment to remain sustainable. My business is sustainable, and I am also mindful of the responsibility given to me as a caretaker of these images in photographs. I've chosen to protect this photographic history and I've been honored that others chose me to protect them as well.
Ken Burns' beloved films have shown us all the value of our 'Visual History. the photographer's work shows us a reality that words cannot express and we need that, now more than ever. education is changing and finally becoming more inclusive - and old photographs are necessary for exploration. We know that what was and is 'written' both in the past and now is often distorted and slanted to favor certain people and ignore or degrade others. A reality with an agenda. historical photographs can change all that and reveal the truth of history. What would we know about time past and the people ~ without photographs of that past? Only what some wanted us to believe. We've seen how dangerous that can become.
every picture truly tells a myriad of stories. And may answer questions about ourselves, others, and our environment - we have not yet asked.
~ Who, What, When Where and Why ~
WHO
The Shadow Catchers (photographers) cataloged so far include 125 separate photographers. Although 90% of collection photographers are those who have resided in my home area of the Southern Puget Sound region of Washington State works from others came my way ~ by choice and circumstance.
Most of the photographers whose work is in the Collection have passed on ~ leaving only their photographs that are used but not attributed. I choose to remember them however as artists ~ and want them also to stand as a testament to their maker's artistry ~ not just as their time on earth.
Also, most of them were very respected working professionals in their time working and sought after for their skill and artistry by loyal patrons as well as successful operators of small businesses ~ active participants within their communities and supported their families with their work.
Very few were amateurs but even those were serious in their art. All genres of photography are represented in their work.
WHAT
The collection contains original negatives and positives, prints and many related materials dating back to the 1870's and encompasses the full spectrum of the photographic medium. When I could I also kept their cameras, materials and documents related to the history of photography - both as art and as a communication form which is an important adjunct and an asset for the community and history that can be found in them.
Subject Matter in the photographs is extensive ~ with the common themes associated with the Pacific Northwest and its natural and cultural landscape well represented in beautiful landscapes, seascapes, soaring mountains, old-growth forests, and the forest product and seafood industries, transportation methods including steamboats, steamships, tugboats, railroading ~ and the dusty main streets of emerging cities. of special note ~ portraits of indigenous Native Americans. multi-cultural pioneers and their struggles to 'tame' the wilderness they faced. And all the diverse outdoor recreational activities such as skiing, hiking, fishing, and hunting, as well as the many historical events that are of national importance.
locations
While most of my collection photographs were made in the Puget Sound region of the State of Washington there are many photographs of the Salish Sea, Alaska and the Pacific Rim partner to the Pacific Northwest, Japan. And there are many photos of other regions of the state, particularly Central Washington viewed through Mary's Eyes. There are photographs from thirty-five other states in the union and from over twenty countries.
MY Journey as A Shadow Catcher
A LIFE IN PHOTOGRAPHY
~ Susan Parish is Owner & Curator ~ born Susan Plantenberg, in Olympia, Washington. a multi-generational native of the southern Puget Sound region of Washington State. I began making and collecting photographs as a child in the 1950s and have been a working professional in the fields of communications and the humanities - specializing in photography & photojournalism - since 1975.
It was While working on the history of Early Women Legislators of Washington in 1980 for an Elected Washington Women project discovering and telling the stories of our women's political Pioneers' I located not only their photographs I created a statewide traveling display. during this project, I also was shocked to discover not only the Jeffers Studio Archives - but, that the holdings of old photographic studios were regularly destroyed & not considered at that time to be primary resource materials. and, that the state of Washington had no facility for Photographic Archives in place. I went on to promote and assist in creating the WA state Archives Photography Division.
Seeing the quickly passing away of a way of life in the PNW that I had known and loved ~ my life's mission of preservation and education honoring the photographers, their art and using this means of visual communication to learn our 'true' history thus began and continues to this day.
I created Shadow Catchers in 1992 as the distributor of photographic based products using images Licensed from The Susan Parish Collection of Photography, I created in 1982 because I wanted to separate the photo archives from the commercial end. I needed to make money to take care of the collection I was building. Link to Shadow Catchers