Justin Maxon’s Multiple Exposures: From the Series Photojournalism at the Crossroads

Photojournalism at the Crossroads is a series from Lightbox that takes a closer look at how photographers are creatively revisiting traditional ways of image making or using the latest digital technology to revitalize the genre and reach a wider audience.

For his very personal and intimate Joop Swart Masterclass Project, Slow down…breathe…only this life, photographer Justin Maxon used in-camera multiple exposure of Kodachrome film. “This project is about my transition from a path of chaos to one of healing,” Maxon says. “For the past decade, my life has been a blur of movement. The healthy parts of my life fell away, those that used to enrich it — family, friends, love. I found myself in a space between worlds, a visitor to everything around me, a stranger to my own life. I realized I had a crossroads approaching, a choice to make. I chose to thread those fractured parts of self back into my life piece by piece.”

“Shooting multiple exposures was the only way I could physically string these pieces together internally. Moments are layered together, creating a patchwork of feelings. I shot Kodachrome to exemplify my longing for color.”

“I wanted to create images that had an extravagance to them — vibrant landscapes, rich with significance to symbolize how momentous these moments in my life were. The delicate nature of exposing multiple images on one roll of film is like the uncertainty of life, always guessing if one more exposure will ruin the mixture or make it sing.”

For more from the series Photojournalism at the Crossroads