Paper short abstract:

An explanation of a subject studied through a lens. As a photographer, I look to compose my images according to what I aim to portray to the viewer. In order to do this I can be very selective as to what is included in the frame, and sometimes more importantly what is excluded.

Paper long abstract:

To photographically document the majority of today's folklore is to document not so much a wholly historical event but a re-enactment of an historical event. It is because of the amount and the content of the archives which have survived and are currently available to us at this time that we are able to authenticate many, but by no means all of today's performances. Before you can create a photographic study, you need an understanding of what is to be portrayed. It is no good to shoot first and then ask questions; it is far better to obtain a background study prior to photographing your subjects in order to be able to bring out the qualities and the little nuances that help to create your subjects' identity and to maintain, as with the case of the 'Old Glory Molly Dancers and Musicians', an air of mystery and menace.