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The Faux Fauxtography (Teen fiction and photography)

March 31, 2012 by Karen Jensen, MLS   1 comments

Margot Wood is a lover of YA lit and calls herself the Real Fauxtographer.  She has a blog where she takes pictures inspired by her favorite YA fiction.  If you haven’t checked it out yet, you really should because she does some amazing photography.  If you are fan of this blog you know that a lot of my teen programming ideas involve having teens create their own teen fic inspired art projects.  From illustrating their favorite quotes from books to recreating book covers with a picture of themselves on the front, there are a lot of ways that teens can cross art with fiction.  The two are wonderful dance partners, to say the least.  Because I am a huge fan of the Real Fauxtographer, I thought I would share some of the pictures that I have shared here in the last year inspired by my favorite teen fiction.  They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I hope that Margot is flattered.

Miss Pereregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children


I had just finished reading this book when I took a shot of my then 2-year-old and accidentally cut off her head.  To me, it evoked the pictures in the book and inspired the Teen Program in a Box outline for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  I still love this book and the TLT Teen Reviewer Cuyler recently shared how much he loved it too.

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The Hunger Games

While going camping one weekend with 40 plus Girl Scouts (why yes, yes it was torture thank you) it rained a lot. And I do mean a lot.  But that weekend my daughter did some archery and inspired a post called Be Your Own Katniss.  And every time I looked out the window I was sure I was living my own dystopian nightmare in a ruined world full of 40 shut in preteen girls.

13 Reasons Why
While walking home from school one day I was taking pictures of my pre-teen and she got sick of it and shied away from the camera.  To me, when I saw this photo, it evokes Hannah Baker.  Every time I look at it all I can think is this is what Hannah must have felt.
Pandemonium
You may have heard, but I love love love the book Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.  It is a superbly written book that speaks to a topic I feel passionate about.  And it is beautifully written.  While taking a walk one day I came across this tree with a heart carved in it and the initials turned out to be relevant so I snapped this pic.
In contrast I took this picture of a bench in the park and it reminded me of how they felt in the Delirium society that if they removed love they would have more control but as we all know, you can’t really control nature – or human nature.
Ashes
I am a huge fan of zombie novels and post apocalyptic fiction, for reasons that I have explained. One of the more recent ones to hit the shelves involves a strong, independent young woman named Alex who is saved by the very fact that she is going to die from a tumor in her brain.  That book is Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick.  I took this picture of one of my very favorite teens, Val, and it evoked the feeling of Ashes for me.

If You Come Softly
If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson is the tragically beautiful love story of star crossed lover.  The language of this story has always stayed with me and emphasizes the idea that sometimes two people are meant, are destined, to come together in life.  One day as I sat watching my two daughters snuggle together, I thought about this book and how in their own way they two were meant to come together.  This picture also inspired my TPIB idea The Book Quotation Celebration.
The Downside of Being Charlie
This is the only picture that I purposely took because I was doing a publicity piece for The Downside of Being Charlie and the upcoming contest with Jenny Torres Sanchez for The 2012 Project.  In her debut book, a young man named Charlie uses photography to help express himself.  This is a heartbreaking and inspiring contemporary novel.  You should check it out.

Variant
Variant by Robison Wells is another wicked cool dystopian with some phenomenal twists.  This picture isn’t so much inspired by the book as it is an actual depiction of someone reading the book – but up in a tree.  It was just too fun not to include.  People should read more books up in trees.
 It is this picture, however, that better evokes something from the novel itself.
So here’s a tip: If you do a google image search with the name of a book that you love, you can often find some amazing art inspired by it.  Or you can always create your own.  Share your favorite teen fic inspired art by linking to it in the comments and let me know what you think of mine.
Check the TPIB TOC (Teen Programs in a Box Table of Contents) for a lot of great activities that you can use with your teens to create their own teen fic inspired art.  Be sure to check out the Embrace by Jessica Shirvington inspired 3D art project where your teens become the cover models for their own angel paranormal fiction.
Other art resources from TLT:
RA Posters
11 x 17 posters
Bookmarks
Memes 
and More

Filed under: Book Reviews, Photography

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About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

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Comments

  1. I love these! I have a lot of photos I've taken throughout the recent years where I look back on them and think “oh cool, that shot reminds me of the book I'm reading now!” Whether your photos are planned or not, they can still be inspired. I am humbled and yes extremely flattered I was able to inspire you!

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