The photobook I will be researching is ‘The Middle of Somewhere’ by Sam Harris. This photobook is an ongoing family diary that revolves around Harris’ two daughters, Uma and Yali, growing up throughout the years. This series began years after they moved from London (2002) and finally settled in Balingup, Australia. It shows their journey and how they also lived in India for a few years. I’d say the images in this photobook are documentary photograph as Sam Harris takes snapshots of his daughters’ day to day activities and their lives.
Sam Harris wanted to document his family in a way he was familiar the most so he decided to make his own family album. His personal photo project grew into an independently published book that won multiple awards including a Lucie Award 2015, and most recently the AIPP Book of the Year 2016.
The title of the book is quite poetic and literal as Harris’ family and him are quite literally in the middle of somewhere. They are far from their home land and in a small village in the middle of Australia, which is on the opposite side of the UK. The book is a conversation, a play between the reader and the photographer, both of who traverse different visual journeys that seem to meet in… the middle of somewhere.
“My work is a celebration of childhood, family life, love and our simplistic lifestyle which intertwines with our environment. As I witness my daughters’ transformation—in what feels like the briefest of moments—I’m compelled to preserve something of our time living together.” – Sam Harris
This book has a soft green cover. There’s golden patterns on it which are indented in the cover, giving it some texture. The cover has rounded edges, giving it a more softer look and feel. The title is written on a piece of cloth and stuck at the top of the book, giving it more texture. To me the book has faint smell of sweet perfume and wood/cardboard.
Most of the pages in the book are thick and seem to be more durable than usual paper; and are filled with many coloured photographs. There are also lined & checker paper, as well as sticky notes that have been stuck down in the book with either tape or clear glue. This gives the book a variety of different types of papers and textures.
The book itself is a a bit smaller than an A4 and consists of mostly landscape photographs spread out on two pages, and juxta position images. The only times this photobook has writing is at the beginning, end and through the inserts. The book starts with a poem by W.H. Davies, Leisure, 1911, which is about life and how we have no time to appreciate it. Towards the end of the book there’s an essay called “Memories of Today” that describes what Sam Harris’ work is all about. Few pages after that there’s a two page spread written by Sam Harris in which he thanks everyone that helped him make this photobook.
The book has two main inserts. The first one is “No Yesterdays. Notes from Somewhere”, which consists of diary entries and love letters from 2000 to 2015. The second main insert is the “Travelogue”, which shows the young family’s journey from India to Australia, 2002-2006. It’s filled with images documenting their travels, life in India and Yael’s pregnancy with Yali. This makes the photobook feel more like a diary rather than a book, making it more personal and appealing to the reader.
