4,748 Self-Portraits And Counting

By Lauren Shipman / January 18th, 2012 in Talks / Toronto / 558 views

Thirteen years ago Jeff Harris started keeping a diary. Foregoing words, the Canadian photographer felt that in order to make a commitment, he needed to be able to squeeze his daily diary entry into the five minute a day time slot he knew he couldn’t walk out on—a daily photographic self-portrait.

The daily self-documentation propelled Jeff Harris from his nine-to-five existence by challenging him to get out and become the no-boundaries man of experience he is today. Not wanting to look like he had a cubical job, Jeff found motivation and explored his visual sense by running around, ensuring that he did something different each and every day. Admitting that for every twenty five pictures he took, he averaged around five he liked, according to Jeff, the longer you do it, the harder it is to stop.

The Time Magazine Light Box documentary 4,748 Self-Portraits And Counting By Jeff Harris takes a look at Jeff’s occasionally-graphic images, exploring just how dramatically the project has impacted Jeff’s life. Like any diary, the project highlights the changes brought about by the passing of time, but in addition to this, Jeff’s vast collection of images allow others to witness his life in a way that a traditional diary may never had been able to; without having to listen to him delve into details, audiences can experience and interpret the experience for themselves.

Since pressing the clicker on his first image back in 1999, Jeff Harris has been through a lot. Battling cancer and now permanently paralysed in his left leg, the photographer’s diary has encouraged Jeff to make the effort not be be a patient 24 hours a day, instead, using the project as motivation to keep going by making the most of the life he still has. There may be plenty of image a day personal life reportage out there at the moment but, honestly, how many people can say that a daily self-portrait project has actually encouraged them to live?