Familiar Touch - Moments in Time

The Journey

Non-Fiction - Art/Photography
32 Pages
Reviewed on 01/08/2021
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    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Familiar Touch: Moments in Time (The Journey) is a work of non-fiction presented in the form of an artistic photography book, and was created by Dr. Robert M. Wright. The work chronicles a literal, figurative, and emotional journey taken by the author from around 1995 onwards, and is set amongst the culture and lifestyle of the Caribbean. Traveling across different islands and capturing moments of poignancy, beauty, and thought-provoking imagery, the work considers the disasters of Hurricanes Irma and Maria as well as the struggles and joys of everyday life. These moments are accompanied by quotations, some religious, some historical, and some more modern, to provide thinking points and highlight the emotion of each image.

Author and creator Dr. Robert M. Wright has crafted a fascinating work that will pique the interest of anyone who spies it waiting on a coffee table. The presentation, layout, and image selection are beautiful, with real talent on display for capturing both the stark destruction and beauty of nature and the most emotive, silent moments of people going about their lives. I found the quotations and textual content that has been chosen for different images highly appropriate, mixing the familiar with the more obscure to give genuine pause for thought. The message of empathy, and of putting ourselves into the shoes of others, is highly impactful and humbling. Overall, I would definitely recommend Familiar Touch: Moments in Time (The Journey) to anyone with an interest in photography, but also readers searching for a mindful moment to connect to art and culture.

Asher Syed

Familiar Touch - Moments in Time by Robert M. Wright is a collection of photographs that focuses on pieces of everyday life in the Caribbean. White's work is submitted in luminous black and white photography and ranges over multiple landscapes that include both the US and the British Virgin Islands, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. While the theme of daily life is consistent, the subjects vary as Wright captures the young and the old, animals, landscapes and nature, and the juxtaposition of creations made by man and the elements that control every aspect of our lives. The wind lightly kicks up the back of a woman's skirt. Children play in the water as a storm approaches. The aftermath of a hurricane. Each photograph is accompanied by a narrative, a quote, or a scripture.

In the age of the phone that can take a photograph and filter it with spectacular results, I am still reminded of photography as an art form; an expression of true connection between camera and subject by a trained eye. Robert M. Wright brings us back to this in Familiar Touch. The collection is small but is as powerful as the images Wright displays, the stand-outs to me being The Tree, which marks the history of its tightly woven trunk from a time when none of us now were even a thought and will stand long after we are gone. The other is All That I Own, in which a man stands with his belongings piled up on the side of the road, seemingly the victim of the one true creation of humankind: poverty. This is a beautiful compilation and I'm so grateful to have read it.

Joe Wisinski

Familiar Touch—Moments in Time (The Journey) by Robert M. Wright is a collection of black-and-white photos. Wright took all the photos in the Caribbean, and he calls them “cultural slices of life.” Photos are from the British Virgin Islands, Mexico, Cuba, Antigua, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Honduras, and Puerto Rico. Subjects include children, landscapes, buildings, churches, and people at work or play. Most of the photos are accompanied by either the author’s thoughts or quotations from well-known or anonymous writers. For example, Wright quotes Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, along with a photo from the Top of the Baths in the British Virgin Islands. “Geologists have a saying—rocks remember.” Wright also quotes the Bible. His book is not religious in tone, yet it’s clear that religion plays a role in the photographer/author’s life.

Readers will enjoy Robert M. Wright’s Familiar Touch—Moments in Time whether or not they have been to the Caribbean. All the photos are beautiful, professionally shot, and tastefully done. Wright notes that hurricanes Irma and Maria caused much damage in the Caribbean, but also points out that “the worst of nature can never destroy the best of man.” His intent is to showcase the beauty of the Caribbean and the indomitable nature of its people. I’ve never been to most of the places Wright photographed, so it was a pleasure to view his photos. They made me want to visit the locations. Wright is a talented photographer, and anyone will enjoy his work.