I Married a Photographer

We have really thrown our time and efforts into our stands for the next two big events Bloomsburg’s Car show and the Art Fest.  Designing and ordering t-shirts, banners, making up order forms, our days have been packed with planning, working, eating, sleeping and more planning. Its a lot of work but enjoyable.  It finally feels like we’re taking our raw ideas and making a business name for ourselves.  I find that with each step we take business-wise, we’re eons from where we started.
Most recently, Dean has worked on a set of shots from a car show that feature the sexy parts of cars.  He calls it car porn, which he posted on his flickr account.  The collection consists of single shots that may or may not have been cropped, to show the off curves and sexy features of these amazing vehicles.  When he was working on these, I only saw one of the finished images. It was the grill of an old Dodge (I’m guessing), the car was a shiny deep blood/maroon red, of course it was immaculate!  The man who had it at the show wasn’t the owner but he told me that he’d pass our card on to him.  What I thought was unique about this car was it’s grill, long, lean and clean it had this sort of boastful look to it.  Proudly sitting in a neat row with lots of other well kept vehicles, my eye was drawn to it.  Dean took a few different views of this car but this single final shot was so sharp, I was speechless. Take a look through the entire set, let us know what you think.  Another one of my favorites is the one of the rumble seat.

After a long hiatus of not reading for leisure, more specifically, not reading anything interesting for leisure.  My husband bought me a book on our recent trip to California.  I like reading and I enjoy it even more when I can commit to completing a book.  I used to read all the time, I always had a book in my hand.  After passing my boards, I would look forward to pouring myself a glass of wine, spending the evening on my bed or futon and diving into a good book.  Since Dean and I have been married I think I finished one book (In Cold Blood by Truman Capote),  just measuring a milestone to a milestone.
With all of this being said, my writing skills are severely crippled.  When I don’t read for a creative outlet, I cannot write with much of a flair it becomes clinical and concrete.  When I was a Chemistry major at Bloom, I had to take a few gen eds my first 2 semesters, one was Comp 1.  I found that when I applied myself to the topic, I did very well at expressing how I felt and why I felt that way.  It became a great tension release, eventually I found that I somewhat relied on my writing to help me work through my problems.  So let me give it a whirl again.
On a Summer morning, one of the Pennsylvania summer days where at 9 am the weather is that cool muggy feeling.  You walk outside and you can feel the layer of  humidity stick to your skin.  I zipped up the lap-top bag and walked out the front door.  Running over The Checklist.  I have this tendency of doing the check list before I leave the house, fridge door closed tightly, toilet running,  stove off, iron unplugged, doors closed, windows shut, etc.  Really the way I was raised, this list could go on forever. I reached to my ears, slipping my earrings on while getting into the passengers side of the car.  Though on the drive we had light conversation about the future’s events, I ran through how and when I should approach people when I am out; and one thing I make a point to do is wear something memorable.  Identifiable.  For example, when Dean and I decided to go to the Children’s Miracle Network motorcycle ride at Quaker Steak and Lube in Bloomsburg, I had starfish earrings on and my hair styled in pigtails.  That should be easy to spot, right?
As the morning progressed, the sun beat down hard on our shoulders and noses forming beads of sweat that no matter how often you wipe them off, reform in the same spots seconds later.   We approached the entrance gate where a woman stood, wearing a baseball cap and a bright orange or yellow vest, as if we’d all have a hard time seeing her without it.  Dean, wearing one of his tie-dye shirts, grabbed his camera equipment, strapped it on him and away we went.
Lined on the south by the river and the north by the edge of town, the open fields of the airport were a welcome setting for a car show.  We entered the grounds and turned left toward an open macadam lot where, in clear view, were the hangars.  After zigzagging through  the crowd of people and beautifully shiny chromed-up cars, trucks and bikes, we were  fortunate to find a ton of friendly people who permitted us to take photos of their vehicles.  I remember thinking that by 1130, the sun was so bright and unobstructed that I could barely look at 50% of the vehicles. Much too too shiny and clean!  Ouch!  We made it a point to give out as many business cards as possible, meet and mingle with as many people as we could and really sell our idea and skill.  Looking back, I think that it was a great marketing move.  Word of mouth is still one of the best forms of advertising out there and when people can put a face to it, how can we go wrong?
Well, I’ll tell you how.  The evening before the car show, Dean and I were playing around with the flash on the camera.  Trying  different lighting techniques, etc.  As one of the settings on the camera changes the white balance to compensate for the different lights one can shoot in. The entire collection of photography taken at the car show was done in an incorrect white balance.  Now thanks to technology, all of those types of errors can be corrected through a few different programs.  I can’t recall the software that he did end up using but thankfully, he could correct them.

Near the Loyalsock trail

Driving up to World’s End State Park was a smidge longer than what I expected.  Referring to good old Google maps on my iPhone, I estimated about how far we’d need to travel. In any event, we eventually arrived. A brisk, windy day we unloaded the car at our first stop; an overlook with a view into the valley. It was what it was, simple, green and pretty but not breathtaking.  And so we moved on, heading to our next destination in the park.  It seemed like we drove for miles and miles before finding the perfect space to capture some nature shots.  From what I can remember, we set up shop near the Loyalsock trail where Dean found a nice waterfall and natural surroundings.

Though artists hit creative funks like everyone in life, sometimes it is just a matter of sliding into hip-waders and trudging through the s**t. This particular day Dean was not feeling creative, nor was I.  Hiking a few thousand feet through the forest wasn’t highly inspiring.  What it all came down to was this odd feeling in the woods.  Only after hiking did Dean make the observation that there was no sign of wildlife.  No bunny, deer, snail, chipmunk, squirrel. Nothing.  Not a thing.  Not even a bird!  How peculiar! A state park with no animals!  I think that aided us into not feeling inspired, it was so boring the animals left.  Bizarre!  In any event, we happened to get some images that proved to be useful.

To better describe this image, I stood in the woods and looked down to see an intense shade of rust in a linear form with multiple striations but not much movement. It was called mineral creek. What Dean captured here was part of that rust colored formation along with many shapes.  I was drawn to the color but seeing this same image in black and white forces your eye to appreciate the forms. What Dean can find in situations as I explained, is what sets him apart from many photographers.  Taking a unique view and making it his.

There are times in life, when events just fall together.  Those times leave me feeling somewhat uneasy.  I’m a realist, logical, level-headed a bit of a concrete thinker.  I have a plan for almost every situation, hence why Dean is so interesting to me.  On occasion, I have a difficult time reading him and where he is taking things.
Yesterday we were out on the dreaded house hunt, driving around the school district, keeping our fingers crossed for that house we can call home.  In our unplanned path, we found a familiar road that led us to a one room schoolhouse.  It wasn’t boarded up or in terrible shape.  Dean grabbed his camera and told his model to take her place.  Inside the building were about 6 desks, in various stages of destruction, a stripped hard wood floor accented with three busted windows on either side.  The walls were painted bright green which hadn’t seemed to dim since the original application of the paint.  To the front of us was the wall-O-chalkboard and behind us was a rusty sink, counter top and drawers.
What Dean captured there was a juxtaposition of ideas.  A lonely girl sitting at her desk, learning.  Written on the board “Fuck the Rulez”.

On rt 204, taking shots of a former home.

Early Wednesday morning, I had a few spare minutes at work.  I caught myself surfing the world-wide-interweb (reference from one of my favorite movies) for a home to call ours. Deep sigh.  This hunt has become a lost cause but that is a whole different topic.  Ugh!  Anyway, I found this house on the interweb and called the listing agent to set up a time to see it. After getting the run-around by a real estate agent, I decided that Dean and I should just drive by the place and see if it is worth the hassle to us.

After work on a fairly sad and rainy afternoon, Zak, Dean, and I took the camera equipment, hopped in the ole’ Xterra and headed toward this house.  I was delighted to use the google maps app on my new iPhone to better assist in my already excellent navigational skills!  We were calmly driving along routes 11 & 15 South. Dean found a spot where he wanted to take some shots and told Zak to remember where it was.  In the passenger seat, I looked to see where exactly the turn off was and Dean slowed the car, pulled onto the shoulder, and asked if this is the right road. I respond, “No.”  So he accelerated and merged back onto 11&15.  I corrected myself by saying that “That was the road we wanted to take, but not the same road the house is on.”  Thinking back, his response was, “Ace directions, Andrea.” So chalk it up to misunderstanding, right?

We continue on. I was doing my best to read the road signs and figure out where the next turn was, to get better reception, I held my phone close to the windshield.  I shouted, “That was the turn!”  As we drive by the road, this being our second missed turn and increasing frustration.  Dean slammed on the brakes -they work very well, by the way, turned the car around and continued on our route.  I knew Dean was furious. I wasn’t very happy with my neurons misfiring.  You could cut the tension with a knife.  Zak and I remained silent.  How do I recover from playing the confident idiot?!

Finally, my google map tells me that we’re past the house, which I announced. But thinking of the photo that was posted online, I hadn’t seen anything proving that we had.  Lo and behold, there in front of us the house stood.  Shabby, weather-beaten, old and now I knew why and how it was priced.  We looked around the property for a little while, I didn’t like it enough to care at that point and I think Dean and Zak were more fascinated by the junked cars in the yard. Disappointed, we crawled back in the car but this time we were much less tense and much more interested in getting some odd shots.  Of what, we didn’t know.

More driving and wrong turns were in our future but lo and behold, we did finally get to the abandoned gas station/garage where Dean asked Zak to earmark earlier.  I didn’t have my camera along, so I can only share his photos. I looked around and imagined how this place may have operated in its day.  A  little garage/shop that could have held two cars at most, I pictured a few guys sitting around in their white t-shirts and neatly buzzed hair, having coffee and cigarettes while catching up on local news.  I saw a skull of a deer or something that had horns, near signs that read ‘beware of dogs’ and ‘no tresspassing’.  Watching Dean at his craft is a cathartic experience for me.  He laid on the ground to get the perfect angle for his shots.  A feeling of complete sadness came over me, thinking that where I now stand there used to be life.  Many years after the closing of this old building no one ever thinks of them as anything mre than an eyesore or junkyard.  I am then brought back to assisting my husband with switching lenses or setting up the tripod.  I stand and watch, seeing what is in his mind, how he sees the final product while taking the images.  I guess, in an analogy it’d be stated as such: Dean is to photography as Andrea is to running.  I know his vision is not anything I could see or photograph but in and around life Dean finds art.

Dean shooting a HDR titled "The Elders"

After spending all day Saturday out in the hot sun at our daughter’s field hockey tournament, we planned to attack Sunday with unusual energy.  Constantly running between the kids’ games and practices, we find that most of our weekends are spent at the extremes of straightening the house or lounging about.   It has been a while since we all climbed in the car with nowhere to go and nothing special to see or do. So that’s exactly what we did!  Sunday in the early afternoon, all four of us and the baby (Dean’s Nikon D300) hopped in the family vehicle to a destination to where we rarely ever travel!

With nothing on our minds but a new family adventure, a hint of newness came over me.  It felt good to approach life with a fresh mind, open to explore.  We found our car slowing down around Halfway Dam; we could not resist.  Slowly we pulled the car into the parking space, I heard the gravel under the tires as we came to a stop.  The first door opened.  I felt the hot Spring air sting my face as I stepped out into the afternoon sun.  Seeing photo opportunities all the time, Dean really has become crafty in finding what angles, lighting, and lenses to use in any given situation.  It always amazes me to see him work.  He gets so into his art that my job is not to point things out to him but help him change the lenses and encourage his craft.

In order for you to view any of these images at an excellent resolution/size, you’ll need to become Dean’s contact on Flickr.  He also has posted most of the images on Facebook and JPGmag. After he took some great images of the forest near the dam, we headed up the hill to the overlook area.  This is where things got interesting!  Having little to no expectation sometimes is the best way to go about things. And in this instance it proved correct.  We got to the top of the hill where there is a narrow pull-off on the right hand side of the road. On this day it happened to be lined with cycles.  There were at least 10 bikes there whose owners stood about 20 feet away looking out over the dam talking.  Dean pulled off the road to turn around since there wasn’t a space for us to park and headed back down the hill.  As he was driving away, we talked about how the bikes would be a great untapped resource.  We ran the scenario by one another – ask the owner permission to take a photo, hand him/her a business card, send him/her a print after it has been processed and violá!  We both looked at one another and Dean did exactly what I thought he should, turned the car around.  I was getting a card ready to hand to the bike owner as Dean became excited thinking about how his shots will turn out. He could see the the HDR results in his mind’s eye and just couldn’t resist.

We parked the car and approached the slew of bikers who were laughing and clearly having nice time.  Dean singled out one fellow to ask him which person owned the bike he wanted to take a shot of – the owner agreed.   After asking us if we were cops, which I found humorous, Dean proceeded to take some amazing images.

As we wrapped up the photo session, we waved to and thanked the bikers once again. They all kind of reminded me of my Uncle Jim but that is a whole different story.   We packed up our equipment and headed off to the next destination; taking snaps of the Amish in transit to . . . uh . . . wherever they go on Sunday. Church? One culture to the next, huh?!  Looking back on the day, it was perfect in a number of ways.  Dean has illustrated to me a number of times how serious he is about doing photography full-time and when I see him work I can’t help but think that his talent is somewhat of a waste in an area that underwhelmed is the new overwhelmed.  We continue on though hoping for that shot to get published or to find that perfect studio space.  Everyday one step closer . . .