PHOTO FINISH
The Family Album, Revisited
Left: Visiting Ginger, 1948. Right: Visiting Ginger, 1958. (Both Photos © Bootsy holler).
Bootsy Holler is not just a photographer, she is also a time traveler. When I first saw her images, she had me totally fooled, thinking they were just interesting old
family photos. Then it hit me: she placed herself into every
image. Her series “The Visitor,” (above, left and right), which
reinterprets intimate family snapshots, had me hooked. Her
time-period costumes and matching lighting is flawless and
completely convincing. Assembling these images clearly takes
superior technical skills. Coupled with a great concept, Holler
has hit a home run.
“All my projects have been personal and often family-based,”
says Holler. “The projects and my understanding of why I’m
making them changes and warps while I’m learning, research-
having a project, and I finally found it in a box of images from
my grandpa’s home. Along with the photos from my mother’s
side of the family, I found vintage clothing from the same
house. Through the images I have chosen and the placement
of myself into each scene, I have now built a new conversation
with my family about the past. Through this project I have
learned so much about my mother as a child, adult and now
grandmother. I’m now starting to work on my father’s side of
the family so I can build both sides into one book and a time-
line on photography. ‘The Visitor,’ I have discovered, is just a
piece in a much larger project about a place, a time, a family
and the secrets we all keep.”
See more of Holler’s work at www.bootsyholler.com. RF
David J. Carol is the director of photography at CBS Outdoor. His images and photo
books are in the collections of major museums throughout the U.S. Contact him at
david@davidcarol.com, or visit his website, www.davidcarol.com
By David J. Carol
