THE COLLECTION HISTORY, MY APPROACH & INTENTIONS
My interest in photography started as a child in the 1950's as it was my father's hobby. I was camera shy (to this day) and so I got behind his Argus 120 camera and soon sent away boxtops for my first camera, which I still have. My first photos were of my family at the go-cart track and friends at Tumwater grade school and it eventually became my professional vocation in 1975. Collecting photography began in earnest in the early 1980s when I discovered that many local photography archives were regularly destroyed. My interest in history, however, didn't begin until I started printing from Jeffers Studio archives that I bought in 1982.
the collection contains
original negatives on glass and film, positives in black and white, and color. and many other related materials comprising the history of photography dating back to the 1870s and encompasses the full spectrum of the photographic medium related to the history of photography - from tin types through digital files. important as art, history, and communications from the past for our education and enjoyment.
The subject matter captured by early photographers is extensive ~ with the common themes associated with the Pacific Northwest and its natural and cultural landscape well represented. beautiful landscapes, seascapes, soaring mountains, old-growth forests, and the forest product and seafood industries that relied on the abundance of natural resources here. Native Americans, multicultural pioneers, and those seeking to carve out a homestead created a government in this land bountiful of rain, trees, and salmon. Eventually, some would try to conquer our highest mountains. So, outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, hiking, skiing, and climbing were of second nature here. transportation methods from Indian canoes to steam and gas. Sidewheel steamboats, tugboats, rowboats, and beautiful yachts ply our Salish Sea to this day. railroads cut through forests and mountains moving people and goods from one dusty main street to another. Here population growth was inevitable and emerged into the new modern cities of today. *I will be uploading databases soon for research.
While I concentrated on collecting photographs and photographers located within the Puget Sound region of the State of Washington ~ there are many other areas of the state and photographs from thirty-five other states and from over twenty countries in my collection.
A LIFE IN PHOTOGRAPHY ~ Journeys OF A Shadow Catcher
Ken Burns's films have shown us all the value of Visuals in History education. and now as American history is becoming more inclusive old photographs are playing vital role and necessary for this continuing exploration of the truth beyond historical writings. Historical photographs 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 witnessed the dangers of only reading or hearing from the most prominent and loudest voices.
every picture truly tells a myriad of stories And may answer questions about ourselves, others, and our environment - that we have not yet even asked.
1984
A MOVIE made in 1984 ABOUT SAVING A COMMUNITY'S LEGACY ~ Susan Parish & THE JEFFERS COLLECTION of OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON
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.
I created Shadow Catchers TV in 2006 when I realized the opportunities to easily share my projects to a greater audience with the advent of digital movie making. I ALSO missed the storytelling inherent in photojournalism. Completed movies are available by request and I make new ones on contract.
