Linda Hopkins Coaching

I’m working with a local community church at the moment, running a photography project. Those who know me, know that I really enjoy photography – taking photos and going to photography exhibitions, etc. I used photography as the methodology for my doctorate, so it’s great to be able to use my skills in participatory photography in a practical and local situation. The aim of the project is to use photographs to give voice to people’s experiences, but we also have lots of fun with phone cameras and think about how to take good photos. As the sessions progress, participants are encouraged to speak out about their experiences of living where they do, and to articulate the needs they see in the local area. By the end of the project we aim to put on a small exhibition to which we’ll invite people who are involved in making decisions locally. (My project is part of a larger piece of work, and hopefully there will be more discussion further along the line about speaking out and speaking up locally.) Alongside the photographs the participants choose to exhibit, will be their words telling their stories. It’s all about working with the group, to support them as they decide what they will show and the stories they will tell. I’m really enjoying the experience of running the sessions, and hope this won’t be the only one, but perhaps the first of others.

Each session has a fun and practical element. I set a task around a theme, such as, take a photograph of something you think no-one else will have noticed, of something round, or something colourful, and everyone goes off to find something to photograph. It has been so exciting to see what people come back with, and what strikes us all as we view each other’s photographs, projected onto a screen, is that we are noticing things that normally we would just walk past or take no notice of. It’s surprising what you can find, and what you will see in a totally new light when you are really looking, and when you get in close (such as my image above of a small section of a much larger mural). The theme of noticing has come up a fair bit in my work with people recently, in spiritual direction sessions and with the photography. That’s something for me to take note of as much as those I’m working with. It makes we wonder, what are we noticing – about the beauty and creativity and all that is good within our communities? What are we noticing about the work of God in our lives and in our communities? What are we noticing about the pain and difficulties that people are carrying? Taking notice doesn’t always give us clear answers, but it does give us something, even if just a momentary glimpse: perhaps that’s a glimmer of hope and light, or an insight into where God is at work or what God is saying right now.