2nd Place - In the Home: Going Up

My brother and I took a series of pictures of our father, Ron, in November 2011. By January 2012 he was dead, and these are the last pictures we have of him. The series of pictures show a wider story of what dementia can do. Ron was born during the first world war and served in the airforce during the second world war. He, like many of his generation, had immense difficulties getting work after the war, but eventually he carved a career as a tool maker and engineer and had several patents for arc welding torch design. He was a very religious, quiet, proud, independent and dignified man. The family saw him gradually slide into severe dementia in the last year or so of his life, and his deperate attempts to hold on to his dignity. Although we had to support him to walk to the lift in the Care Home, we were still 'guests' in his home and he was determined to do what ever he could to maintain the role of host and father. When we got to the lift he slowly reached out to press the button and we captured this act of independence. It was only later that it struck us as an iconic representation of the use of technology as a demonstration of dignity and independence.