honorable mention
Kip Harris canada
title
At Work
There is a Taoist phrase: “wei wu wei,” which has been translated a number of ways but the one I like best is “doing, not doing.” When one has become a complete master of an action, he no longer has to think about how to perform the act but has become the act himself. I try to photograph this.
My subjects are almost always cooperative. They take my interest as a compliment and like to talk about their work even if it is only through gestures. People who share the workspace or the adjacent one always like to see the digital thumbnail. They know when you’ve caught the person and the action correctly; they are the very best critics.
He now lives on the South Shore of Nova Scotia in an 1823 cottage overlooking the St. Margaret’s Bay. He and his wife created Company X Puppets (a highly portable puppet, dance, theater group established to present intimate mixed media theater works).
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entry description
When people are in their own workplaces, they are most at ease with themselves. They do not need “to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet.” I like to stand and watch a little before photographing to convey my appreciation for the worker’s skill and engagement. A man’s work is his life and should be respected. It also gives me a chance to have eye contact and that makes all the difference. In a world where most work now happens in office buildings and factories away from public view, it becomes more and more important to me to see work being done, to see concrete results, and to see the faces of the workers.There is a Taoist phrase: “wei wu wei,” which has been translated a number of ways but the one I like best is “doing, not doing.” When one has become a complete master of an action, he no longer has to think about how to perform the act but has become the act himself. I try to photograph this.
My subjects are almost always cooperative. They take my interest as a compliment and like to talk about their work even if it is only through gestures. People who share the workspace or the adjacent one always like to see the digital thumbnail. They know when you’ve caught the person and the action correctly; they are the very best critics.
about the photographer
Kip Harris grew up in a small farming community in Idaho. He holds degrees in English literature from Dartmouth College, in humanities from the University of Chicago, and architecture from the University of Utah. He was a principal of FFKR Architecture in Salt Lake City for nearly 30 years, founding its interior design and hospitality studio. In Native American casinos in the Southwest, he introduced the use of Indian art as a major design element of the interiors.He now lives on the South Shore of Nova Scotia in an 1823 cottage overlooking the St. Margaret’s Bay. He and his wife created Company X Puppets (a highly portable puppet, dance, theater group established to present intimate mixed media theater works).
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