Daniel W. Coburn is an American photographer who doesn’t follow traditional methods of photography, often using a slow shutter speed to create purposefully blurred images along with a mix of well focused images to represent his ideas.

I am particularly inspired by his series ‘Next of Kin’ where he staged photographs of his immediate family members and explored various themes without sugar coating how he and his family are together, leaving him with a raw set of images rather than creating the stereotypical, picture-perfect photo album. Along with that, I also take inspiration from his series ‘The Hereditary Estate’ where he continues with the theme mentioned above whilst delving into the darker side of his family history, highlighting what would’ve otherwise been supressed. In this series, however, he chose to take exclusively black and white photos of objects and places rather than just focusing on his family members, creating a more emotional response, especially once compared to ‘Next of Kin’, almost making it seem as everyone has disappeared.

I plan on taking some photos in a similar style as Coburn, using careful composition of me and my parents mixed in with some images of personal items/places in order to create a meaningful set of photos.

Next of Kin Series: Examples

The Hereditary Estate Series: Examples