Returning Home with a Camera
Over Thanksgiving break, I returned to my hometown of Watertown, WI, with the intention to walk the streets and capture some images. I've only done this a few times throughout the years, and taking an hour or two to walk around my old stomping grounds reminded me of how differently we can experience the world when there’s a camera in our hands.
Returning to Watertown has changed dramatically for me over the years. First, it was as a college student who had moved away, seeing it as the place I left for a new adventure. Then, I brought my wife there when we were dating, viewing it through her eyes. Eventually, when we had kids, I saw it yet again through the perspective of my children and how they experience the town compared to how I lived it as a child. And now, when I return, I see it a bit differently again because my grandpa is no longer around and him and this town are forever linked. My brother and I made a few stops at some of his favorite local establishments, and I think I’ll be doing that once more when I visit, but this time I’ll take my camera.
These images are from my walk around town, and what a treat it is to see a familiar place in a new way. Places like Schuett’s, which recently reopened after being closed for many years, selling their famous deep-fried footlong hotdogs (my favorite when I was a kid) or Town Cinema with its mannequin in the ticket window, where my best friends worked, and I spent many nights as a high schooler. These are a few of the places that are intrinsically tied to my time growing up here.
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