Cory D. Scholes’ ‘Don’t follow me home’ zine has an interesting backstory…
Scholes tells the story at the beginning: many years ago, a friend got a phone call from his girlfriend, asking to meet at the park. To get to the meeting place, the friend had to walk through the dark, spooky park. He got all freaked out by the trees and birds and all, and when he got to the other side, the girlfriend broke up with him. She ended the meeting with “don’t follow me home” casually tossed over her shoulder as she walked away.
The friend’s walk back through the park to his home was different: he lingered, almost enjoying the gloom and lurking monsters.
Scholes returned in late 2017 and photographed that walk, at dusk, through that park, and the result is this zine.
Raindrops and ravens, flash-illuminated trees and abandoned cars, a used condom juxtaposed with a swan, it all works really well, once you have the story. Without it, the mix of black & white and color, natural, flash, and manmade illumination, works ok, but is a bit of a jumble. The photography is solid and the pictures work, but they really need a good story to help them hang together.
| Concept | |
| Content | |
| Design |
Overall, I’d give ‘Don’t follow me home’ 3.5 stars.
I hoped to pass you on to a link to pick up a copy and support Scholes and his work, but he sold the last copy on February 16, 2018, and his website is defunct as of 2021, and I can’t find him at the usual places online. I hope he’s alright. He was serious about his work, and we amateur photographers need to encourage and look after each other.
