If you’ve followed What’s Your Grief for even a little while, you probably know that photography is a passion of ours.  We specifically love photography as a tool for exploring and expressing grief. We even have an entire section of our site dedicated to it!

We also run an e-course on the topic of exploring grief through photography. Suffice to say, we are always blown away by the work participants share. Today, we are honored and privileged to share just a fraction of this work with you. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to check out these moving photographs and their accompanying thoughts. If you’re on Instagram, be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for details on our August Photo-A-Day Grief Photo Challenge.

“My grief has been a path through pain and chaos. It has been loud and confusing. Lonely, too. But I have been determined, and continue down the path no matter how endless a journey it seems. In the midst of suffering and seeking silence and stillness, I have somehow rekindled my creativity as a part of healing. Slowly, but surely, I am learning to trust others. I am beginning to find comfort and safety in relationships instead of protecting myself so fiercely that it is isolating. I am more frequently and easily speaking my truth. Understanding my trauma has brought me closer to myself, and continues to.”

Anonymous

“Towards the tail end of the first year of my husband’s passing, I got this tattoo on the palm of my hand. Yes, it was physically painful but emotionally it was relieving. And feeling something, anything, other than that raw, overwhelming, engulfing, all-consuming, sickening grief was a relief. It seems to continually let itself out bits at a time. This was one of those times.

The decision to get this particular tat came from the scripture verses, ‘…I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands…’, Isaiah‬ ‭49:15-16‬ ‭NIV‬‬. Previous experiences with the death of a loved one had/has me anxious over time passing, memories fading, and forgetting. Not usually a valid realistic feeling but one I’ve experienced with the past losses of my father and my first daughter. Mostly it’s the fading “strength” of my memories and love for them. And the truth for me be told, it happens…hence the tattoo to remember my husband.”

Carmella Leone Russell

Since my boy died, I have searched desperately for meaning in the torment, the anguish, groped in vain for reasons, blamed myself, crushing my spirits with incredible guilt. A constant revolving door of emotions that never seem to stop. Some days the emotions revolve a bit slower, other days they spin almost out of control.

Although excruciatingly painful, I feel the need to return to those places that hold memories of my boy’s earthly presence… so while in Chicago this week, I went up the step & through the revolving doors of Roosevelt University on Michigan Avenue where my Eric entered so many times while attending classes at the time of his death.

I wondered about his own battles of revolving emotions as he kept his battle with addiction a secret for as long as he could. I couldn’t get any further inside the door without a college ID, so when the guard in the lobby stopped me & asked what I needed, I began to cry and asked if I could just stand there for a moment to remember. When I finally left, I stood before this place, with its revolving doors of memories and feelings, and just let the spinning emotions wash over me until I could walk away.

Kimberly Griner Heinz

August Photo Challenge

If you’ve never participated in a What’s Your Grief Photo-A-Day Challenge before, here’s how it works:

Step 1. View Photo Prompts

Each day, there is a new grief-related photo prompt. You can view all of the prompts below.

Please note that we’ve intentionally left the prompts vague so participants can express them in ways that are unique to their experiences and point-of-view.

Step 2. Take A Photo

The concept is simple: Each day, you take a photograph representative of that day’s prompt. The goal is to take at least one photo every day in August (though you don’t have to do so to participate!).

If You Need a Pass…

We’ve found in our e-course, Exploring Grief Through Photography, that there can be tremendous benefit in pushing yourself to photograph the objects, places, experiences, and emotions that feel most challenging to your grief.

However, when you’re grieving, you may simply not have the energy on some days… and that’s okay. If, on any given day a certain prompt seems too difficult, use the prompt “gratitude” instead. When you share your post that day, simply share with #pass. If you need a little extra support, feel free to share why.

Step 3. Connect – Share One, Support One

Over time, we hope to build a community of people participating in this challenge—and one of the greatest benefits of community is the ability to give and receive support. Our philosophy is simple: 

Share one, support one.

So, for every photo you share, please take a minute support someone else by liking or commenting on their photo.

The Most Important Part: Hashtags!

In order for participants to be able to search for photos shared as a part of the challenge, you need to use your hashtags! It would be great if you could tag us as well.

Username: @whatsyourgrief

Challenge Hashtag: #WYGriefPhoto

(This hashtag will allow you to search for all photos shared as a part of the challenge)

If you’re not on Instagram… Just because you aren’t on Instagram doesn’t mean you can’t participate! You can share your photos on What’s Your Grief’s Facebook, or you can complete the challenge privately.

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