Sons of Service

The goal of the project is to show the public that men experience emotional distress as well, despite the fact that they may not express it as much as women do. When I realised that my daughter, who was only 2 years old at the time, was copying everything I did around her from the way I played with her to the way I interacted with my wife I started my search. From this point on, I began to believe that as I influenced her, I was also influenced by her in return. So I started digging through the drawer of memories to see if I had any such experiences.

Before I started looking, I would have claimed that I didn't adopt any of my father's traits and that I developed my own personality. However, then I remembered that when I was around 10 years old, I wanted to laugh like my father. He was the "soul of the party", always trying to make those he sat at the table laugh. Without realising it at the time, I took control of this and even how to laugh. I developed a curiosity about other people's lives, how they were influenced, and more than that, I wanted to learn about their fathers through the lens of my work from that point forward. Now that I'm learning more information and delving deeper into the search, I'm beginning to question whether this photo essay is about the search for the ideal father or whether I'm trying to be the ideal father.

Table of Contents

Sons of Service

A Photographic Exploration of Fatherhood and Professional Stress

By George Dumitru

Sons of Service

It’s a strange thing, from what I recall it was more excitement, which is strange because most normal people would be worried about the guns but we were all excited because we were army barmy, that was a saying back then,

all the kids were army barmy. We had little combat fights, we had little guns that were made for us, we had rucksacks and weapons so we were into blades we all wanted to be in the army ourselves

The Army

The Ambulance Driver

He had medical training and everything. I can not remember him complaining about how hard the job was or him being underpaid but I can remember seeing him upset and crying because of things that had happened. He would try and hide everything that happened like when they lost a child on the way to the hospital and things like that, so I couldn't understand that there was a lot of stress and pressure and things came with the job

I can remember from the days I was going to school is that dad was mostly at work but when he had a late shift he was helping us get ready. My mum was going to bed when we went to school because she worked permanent nights.

Chemical Factory Worker

I only recall the wonderful moments, which is unusual but also lovely. He undoubtedly had a significant impact on me throughout the brief time we were together. When a billboard advertising a new car appeared in our town when I was around 10 years old,

I argued that the price listed there was incredibly low and that we could afford a new car. He accompanied me to the sign and explained what it said and what it meant in order to help me comprehend that the amount posted is merely the deposit.

He was probably pretty content at home because his job wasn't very exciting; he never desired more, and even now you can't persuade him to do more.

I believe that he is to blame for my composure and laziness, while my mother is to blame for my involvement and money wastage.

If I had to criticise him for anything, I would say that dad was lazy because he stayed home while my mother went to work abroad and didn't leave Romania until I brought him to the UK.

Cogwheel Processor

We had to be a little bit more cautious due of the system because if you said something wrong it was awful for the parents. What drawn me about him was that he always took everything seriously, never took anything as a joke, and there were places when he would analyse to see whether the other person was joking.

Even though I knew he would dispute with me, I didn't keep any secrets from him despite how severe and hard he was.

Romanian Soldier