In 2005, I started a photography program for young people on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. In this ongoing project, my students and I photograph together, are all students and teachers, and are all featured in each other’s work.
Our favorite locations are the fields and abandoned buildings on the fringes of town, forgotten places thick with the past that lend themselves to imaginary games and textured photographs.
Children have a unique ability to experience love, joy, and pain simultaneously, without compartmentalizing their experiences. I aim to convey this complexity. My images explore play as a vehicle through which youth reveal and negotiate their emotions, histories, and desires.
More images are available upon request.
Emily Schiffer Photography
Spontaneous. Intimate. Real. Fine art, editorial, and commercial photography by international award-winning photographer Emily Schiffer.