Extended Family by Shayna Breslin

by Shayna Breslin

When I was five years old, my sister and I sat on the orange shag carpet surrounded by the open pages of my grandparents' extensive collection of National Geographic magazines. I told her that I wanted to grow up to be the person who took those photos. I remember pouring over the fascinating images and daydreaming of all the places I hoped to go and people I hoped to meet all over this earth.

It goes without saying that I never reached the heights of a National Geographic photographer. However, I graduated with a degree in photojournalism and worked for ten years as a photographer, mainly for the South Bend Tribune, documenting the best and worst of my community. I loved the work and never questioned this path until 2009 when the economic downturn put me out of a job, and newspapers all over the USA were hemorrhaging staff.

I had to think hard about my next steps. I knew I didn't want to chase a shrinking pool of jobs around the country. I didn't want to be a studio, portrait, or wedding photographer. I am a storyteller; photography is the medium I work in to express that.

I made the practical decision to return to school and become a registered nurse. I jumped into this work with both feet and mostly abandoned documentary photography. I was so busy with nursing for the first few years that I didn't notice the toll that neglecting my creative side was having on me.

As the stress built up over time, I came to realize that lacking that outlet was playing a role in my deteriorating mental health. During the pandemic, I was really at my wit's end with the psychological burden of being in the healthcare field. I decided to save for a true getaway where I could shed the caretaker role, my everyday identity, and my responsibilities and rediscover my passion for people, photography, and travel.

I've traveled internationally, mostly through Latin America, since I was 20 years old, and many of my trips have been solo. This trip was a mix of visiting my Kashmiri friends in Srinagar and some solo time. I went to Kashmir, Ladakh, and the Golden Triangle - Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan- on the Indian continent. These three regions have profoundly different cultures and many different languages. In Kashmir, the population is over 90% Muslim; in Ladakh, the population is predominantly a mix of Muslims and Tibetan Buddhist refugees. Hindus comprise more than 80% of the population in the Golden Triangle.

I find different cultures, languages, and religions fascinating, and my philosophy of traveling solo is going out to meet members of my extended family. I go with confidence that if I have an open mind and an open heart, people will respond in kindness. I've found this true in my 28 years of traveling and ten years at newspapers. It's all about the approach. With an enthusiastic, genuine curiosity to learn from people, connection happens.

To embrace different cultures I learn a few words of the language, read a couple of books on history and politics, and get up to date on current events. I smile at people even when cultural safety guidelines say don't smile at "the men." I don't believe in those stereotypes. I've sung pop songs with touts in the medina in Marrakesh and danced with Chilean huasos (cowboys) in the moonlight, camping in Patagonia.

Doing documentary work in India, I sought to capture moments of commonality between myself and the subjects. I wanted to share something bridging the distance between a conceptual "us" and "them." Documentary work allows me to be ultra-present to the nuance and delicate rhythms around me. It allows me to see from the inside out.

As my style of photography broadens into a more artistic approach beyond strict photojournalism, I find myself drawn to create dreamy or slightly off-beat images. I'm moved by scenes that fuel my imagination and help me feel the wonder that re-enchants me with life.

Taking photos reminds me that, despite all the darkness and confusion swirling around this world, there still is beauty, tenderness, and shared humanity as long as I keep looking for it. I try to convey this experience viscerally with expression, light, angle, color, and composition, bringing the viewer as close as possible to the fleeting moment I was fortunate enough to witness. I want those who look to be drawn in and feel like they were there with me.