Sunday Showcase: Clayton Cotterell

Sunday Showcase
July 17, 2010 4

Sunday Showcase shows a collection of work from one photographer- from a startup to an established shooter- each Sunday. Ideally, it will be a nice place to visit, with coffee in hand on Sunday mornings, possibly as you nurse a hangover.

This week showcases a selection of work from Clayton Cotterell’s project, All in the Family.

Clayon’s statement about this project:

All in the Family is an ongoing project in which I am primarily photographing my younger brother, Ian Cotterell, before and after he has joined the U.S. Army. This work investigates the current generation of young Americans crossing the gap between childhood and adulthood in a time of war.

I began photographing Ian in 2007 with no real intentions of using him as a subject. He is my brother and it was a way for us to spend time together, as we are very different in our personalities and interests. When he decided to join the military it created a new and strange patriotism in my family, simply because my parents wanted to support him in his decision. I started to take interest in this shift and the project began. As time went by, I understood what I was doing more and more, and decided to focus completely on Ian. As with previous projects, I felt by honing in on a specific individual I could then speak about a broader community experiencing a similar period in their lives.

If you have a question or comment for Clayton about his work, please feel free to leave a comment for him to respond to.

3_bodyarmor

Body Armor

3_unarmedUnarmed

3_mufflerhutMuffler Hut

3_bunkBunk

3_tattoochairTattoo Shop

3_headphonesCamo Headphones

3_lunchLunch on Base

3_6-23-08bigscan41Weekend Leave

3_bootsArmy Boots

3_waterpark_v2(No title)

3_ianastoriaVisiting Rosemary

3_untitled-4With Nicole

3_rockoperaRock Opera

3_shootingrangeFiring Range

3_plaintOut Back

3_ians-truckCivilian Vehicle

3_graduationdayGraduation Day

4 Comments

    • Yospyn
    • Jul 18, 2010, 7:32

    I was most struck by the consistency of your brother’s serious facial expressions. Is he always like that?

    • Frank
    • Jul 18, 2010, 7:41

    Fantastic series.

    Some of these shots really capture how young (sorry but immature and dumb come to mind) American youth is.

    Clayton looks very much a boy in “Outback” and “Bunk.” The idea, of course, of him going to war is wrenching.

    Amazing to witness the physical and emotional (”Lunch on Base”) evolution.

    “Visiting Rosemary” is simply a beautiful shot.

    And the sequence of the “Weekend Leave” and “Army Boots” is fab.

    Kudos.

  • Great work. All his website is worth a look, and more than one I’d say.

    • Clayton
    • Jul 27, 2010, 4:54

    Thanks all for the comments.

    Yospyn, no he is not always like that. I chose to photograph him more or less between moments of expression.

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