Denise DeLaunay Photography

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Denise DeLaunay Photography

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Instagram denise_delaunay
Instagram Studio Account albertstreetstudios

19/06/2023

The 80’s Project
80 Over 80

This project has been on my mind for a long time.
I’ve always loved older people, even as a teenager.
I worked as a nurses assistant (auxiliary nurse for my Uk friends) from the age of 16 till my early 20’s.
The hospital I worked at had a floor no one really liked getting assigned to, except me.
8 south, the geriatric floor.
I loved it. It was messy sometimes & sad but for me it was also inspiring and always carried with it an element of acceptance.
It was there I saw my first dead body.
I was 17.
I was asked to go and wash her face and hands, comb her hair and fix her bed for her family coming in.
Her mouth was open and I tried to close it but it opened up again.
It scared me, I remember it very well.
Maybe this is too much information.
All I’m meaning to say is I love the older generation.
They are wonderful people full of stories, of hardship, hard work, love, laughter, dance hall romances, prisoner of war, death…life.
Lives well lived during an era that had tremendous hardships.
I crave an older person in my life, as mine are disappearing. If not physically then Mentally.

Most of the work I have been doing over the last 6 or so years has been helping to give a voice to the voiceless. Eyes to the unseen. It’s what I’m most interested in as a photographer.

These pictures are digital images that are taken through the viewfinder of a Kodak duafkex vintage film camera.

I’m on a quest to photograph 80 people over the age of 80 years old this year with the intent to exhibit them in the in Edinburgh at the New Contemporaries 2024 exhibition in the spring.
Please get in touch if you know anyone who would like to take part ❤️

13/06/2023

Olive 90
The 80’s Project
80 Over 80

Olive turned 14 on a Friday, and her mother told her on the Monday to go out and get a job 😂

She did. She was a machinist in Glasgow in a baby clothing factory.

She moved to Aberdeen when she was 18.

After a couple of false starts, she met Bill at age 55. He was a keeper ❤️. He turned an old ambulance into a caravan long before it was fashionable. They toured all over Scotland together in that ambulance. They loved it.

Olive had a stroke about 9 years ago. Lost half her mobility and her speech. She taught herself to walk and use her arm & hand again, although it’s still weak. The most frustrating for her is her words. She knows what she wants to say, but they sometimes get trapped in her head.

Pat, her daughter in law comes by every Wednesday and brings her dog Teddy 💕

Olive was a good laugh…I’m having so much fun photographing this generation. Each time I seem to stay a little bit longer…

DM me if you know anyone you think would like to take part in the 80 Over 80 Project! 💕

11/06/2023

Kathleen 99
The 80’s Project
80 Over 80

Pearls and Red Lip Stick

Kathleen’s Dad was a soldier in WW1 stationed in India, and Kathleen served in WW2 in the Woman’s Land Army when she was around 19 or 20.

She went to Wales for college to learn what a woman is to do in the land army. She was then sent to 3 different farms to do all kinds of farm duties. She did anything they needed help with on the farm, if someone was sick or if they were missing the young men who were away due to the war. She cooked milked cows, fed chickens, anything.

Kathleen was a secretary before she went into the army. She was able to put her Pitman shorthand to work again at The Royal Armament Research & Development Establishment, where they developed vehicles and equipment for military intelligence. She worked out her career here.

I asked her what the highlight of her life was, and she said, without hesitation, she had married the right man.
‘He was just lovely. We never fell out. He was a lovely man.’ ❤️
‘I had a marvellous life.’
‘Hard work, but just marvellous.’

Her beloved died 9 years ago.

PS She was reading the paper to me as I took her picture, and it wasn’t until I got home that I realised she didn’t need glasses to read!

Thank you to everyone who has gotten in touch so far with people for me to photograph! Keep them coming. I’m almost halfway there 😊

15/05/2023

Rosie sweet sweet Rosie 84
The 80’s Project
80 over 80
#3

Rosie was a widow twice over by the age of 29! She lost her 1st husband to a brain aneurysm and her 2nd to a heart attack.

They had just moved to Australia, he had come out of the military and they were starting a new life down under…then disaster struck. The military paid for his funeral. He was buried in a red casket, red! Rosie had never before or since seen a red casket.

The Australian government paid for her and her two young sons to fly back to Britain. She was gutted to leave the dream of a new life behind.

She soon found the love of her life whom she was married for over 50 years. He recently passed away reinstating her widow statues for the 3rd time.

Her sister lives next door and her sister in law 2 doors down. They look after each other 💕

Please DM if you know anyone 80+ that would like to take part in The 80’s Project! 😊

11/05/2023

Norma 88
The 80's Project
80 over 80

When Norma turned 60, she told herself,' I really should stop running for the bus.' She never did. Although she did say she’s noticing now, she can’t run as fast at 88!

She went to Canada and lived there for a few years in her twenties and won that Raggedy Ann doll (popular doll in North America) by guessing its name, Anna Marie, apparently a popular name at the time.

Please DM me if you know anyone who would like to take part, prerequisite 80+ years old 😊.

08/05/2023

Margaret 85
The 80’s Project
80 over 80

Margaret got her first job at 40 and worked at M&S as Christmas help. Once that finished, she walked across the street to BHS and worked there until she was forced to retire at 60. She then walked down the street to Archibald’s, a local family-run furniture store, and worked there managing the bedroom furnishings downstairs until she was 80.

Margaret is a fabulous woman, strong, beautiful, fashionable, with a quick wit, and was very generous as I photographed her.

The 80’s project is underway…
My mission is to photograph 80 people over 80, a generation who is mostly tucked up at home.
Please DM for info on how to take part. I'd love to hear from you!

16/02/2023

We went from dancing in the lift to trying on her fur coat! She gave me a tour of her assisted living complex showing off her orchids that another resident takes care of, all the while telling me stories of her well-lived life. I had a great afternoon.

Jean, 88, very kindly sat for my new project called The 80’s I’m looking for people 80 and over to take their portrait. Very casual in their own homes or favourite place. A cup of tea, a chat, definitely a few laughs and a couple clicks of my camera…please DM me if you know anyone or if you’d like to take part. I can travel anywhere in Scotland. If you’re in America, I can schedule you for the next time I’m there (Michigan or Florida).

23/01/2023

A fabulous Christmas party at The Palm Court Hotel last month with the charity Re-engage. Re-engage is a charity dedicated to tackling loneliness in people over 75. Tea Parties are hosted in private homes across the city on any given Sunday for those over 75 who may not usually see many people or socialise throughout the week. It's a fantastic charity I am very happy to be a part of.

18/01/2023

Swimmer's Hair

Olivia

17/01/2023

My Nephew Nathan Perris, the king of underwater swimming

16/01/2023

Nolan & Neveah

Treasures

Florida 2019

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Aberdeen

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https://www.denisedelaunay.com/

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