Troy Colby

Troy was born in rural Kansas in 1975 and currently lives in Lawrence, Kansas. His work and research explore the delicate balance of family, fatherhood, and the outcome of the family photo album. Motivated by intellectual and psychological inquiry of these intimate topics, Troy photographs his own family as a means of understanding the emotional qualities that come along with fatherhood. It has become his means of understanding while creating an honest interpretation of the idealized family album.

He received his BFA from the Academy of Art University in 2015 and his MFA in 2019. His work has been seen in Black and White Magazine, Lenscratch, Feature Shoot, Plates to Pixels, The Photo Review, Fraction Magazine, Der Greif, and FotoRoom.

The Fragility of Fatherhood

THE FRAGILITY OF FATHERHOOD

Hold my hand and hold your breath. I am learning as I pretend to know what I am doing. I am so tired and worry more about you than myself. I am restless in this domesticated life. I long for more for you and me. Things seemed easy when it was only the pitter-patter of your little feet. Life can be so unkind.

I see the way the light hits your face as you cry out for warmth, I see how it hits your face and shows the lines of wisdom, through the good and the bad. We are quiet and unspoken, yet we scream the loudest.

Rest your tired eyes. I will cover you in warmth. We will move past this and carve out our own light against the darkest skies. As the words, Are you Okay fade from our lives.

Troy

To view more of Troy Colby’s work please visit their website.