Photo Essay: The Fire

Process

My first step towards creating my narrative was choosing a protagonist from the list on the assignment page and pairing it with fire, my object from the 50 renderings assignment. Out of all the options, it felt easiest to go with the ‘angry person’ as my protagonist, because fire often has an angry or violent connotation. Next I began writing down notes and storyboarding a general outline of the narrative. This process helped me connect the character and the concept, and ultimately decide on what pictures I’d need to take to communicate the story through photographs. See my documentation below:

After outlining this process and writing the story to accompany my photos, I went over to a friend’s house to start taking my pictures. He has a color changing lamp in his room, which I felt could really play off of the fire theme and add to the moods of each picture. Working with him and his roommates, I was able to complete the picture portion of my essay.

The Story

Ogun loved fire. Everyone around him knew it. Since he was a young child, he’d play with matches, lighters, kindling — whatever he could get his hands on. As Ogun grew up, his love of fire swelled into a dangerous obsession. He grew bored watching the flames dance on top of candles and fire pits. He wanted to watch them perform on other stages, like his mother’s favorite dress, or his sister’s ponytail. His family and friends always tried to correct him and control his obsession, but to no avail. The love he had for flames grew too dangerous to control, and slowly Ogun drove away everyone that loved him. When Ogun finally lost the last of his friends, he spiraled. Angry and alone, he turned towards the warmth of his only consistent companion; fire. It was the only thing he knew that could calm him down. Ogun lit a cigarette, to soothe his nerves and to watch the embers burn centimeters away from his face. He played with matches, lighters, and candles, like he did when he was a boy. Soothed by their dance, he slowly drifted off to sleep. The flame in his candle continued to burn, and was suddenly pushed off of his window ledge by a gust of wind. In his deep state of slumber, Ogun dreamed that the flames licking at his ankles were the comforting gestures of a friend.

The Pictures