“Black Thumb” by Photographer William Mark Sommer

A selection of images by photographer William Mark Sommer (previously featured here). Having grown up in the small town of Loomis, California, Sommer has a deep appreciation for overlooked or forgotten places and the complexities of American life. His artistic practice often engages in themes of human nature, preservation, empathy, and time. “Black Thumb” is a series documenting the daily life of his father. Through photography, Sommer seeks to develop compassion for his father’s experience and cultivate a better relationship with him through the creative act. For Sommer, creating with and about his father isn’t just about discovering more about him as a person, it is also a journey of self-discovery:

“For my full life, I have known this man, my father. He was the first person to meet me in this world, the person who gave me a life to explore art and the person with the highest expectations. My father is a man of little words, a man that understands machines and is a hard worker who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He has been hard to live with, hard to get to know, but a person who cares.”

See more images from “Black Thumb” below.