Okay, my first day in Montreal has been full of adventures… so much, in fact, that it’s 2 AM and things are only starting to wind down before I fall quickly asleep. I have a break tomorrow, so expect a blog post midday if all goes as planned!
Until then, here’s a photo of the Biosphere, located on an island in Montreal…
Currently in Burlington, Vermont. Photographer Corey Hendrickson let me crash over in his studio for the night before I set out for Montreal tomorrow. When I went out tonight to grab a bite to eat, I spoke with some of the people sitting around in the pizza joint (me eating pizza somewhere, imagine that). I was told that Burlington is the smallest “largest city” in the nation, if you rank the population in each state’s largest city.
Earlier today, I stopped off in White River Junction, Vermont, to make a photograph with Savannah. She works for the Main Street Museum, which shows all of the odd, quirky, and interesting pieces of life (I’ll be stopping off again on my way back down to photograph more of the interior, and also to do a portrait with Savannah). The reason we shot there, though, is because of an over the top, crazy awesome car that sits in front of the museum.
The photograph is based around the idea of how dogs might appear in the backseat of cars, combined with the disciplinary emotions of kids while traveling. This shot has been tossed around and discussed with various potential people, but I think luck was on my side for it to work out here. The car I was able to use is amazingly awesome, and Susannah fits the role of dominating female in more ways that you could imagine, so casting was perfect all around.
After making the photo, I hustled towards Burlington. The drive through this state was phenomenal. Mountains loom in the horizon everywhere, and since I was driving as the sun was setting, it took an effort to stay on the road while trying to take in this natural beauty all around me!
Below are some production test photos from White River Junction, and then some photos I made while traveling up the state. Have fun!
And through Vermont…
This last shot is kind of funny, because I framed it pretty close to the image I used for the postcard some of you might have seen for the trip. Except a completely different landscape!
And the card…
So today I arrived into Arlington, MA, which is a suburb of Boston. While traveling to here, I went through a few patches of hard rain, especially around Hartford, CT. Saw a bad car wreck along the way. About an hour outside Boston, my friend Emily called me and said some trees were knocked down around her house so getting into the driveway would be difficult. The roads were blocked by trees.
When I did arrive, I had to basically go down a one way the wrong way to get into her driveway. The scene I arrived to was neighbors out in the street, and firemen and other officials worked to remove tree limbs. I’m only guessing lightning struck some trees, while others were blown over by the wind. A few cars had trees on top of them. Power lines were knocked down, while others had trees resting against them. Amazingly enough, all of the homes still had electricity. Don’t see that every day.
So… walking through the neighborhood amongst all of this destruction took precedence for the evening. We walked around a few blocks, taking photos and video. Then the sun peaked out against a dark sky, so the nice New England architecture began showing through in all of its beauty. Two things happened. I saw her bathroom, which is where our planned shot was going to take place. Seeing it in person, the scene wouldn’t really work in that location. And then I decided to make a photo, instead, amongst these streets. Holdup is, with all of the labor happening around us, couldn’t really set up a production, so instead I plan to swing back through Boston and shoot a new exterior photo after I leave Montreal, before I head into Maine.
I have a big stack of images to show you from the day, though. The first collection is from walking through the storm debri that has affected homes, yards, and vehicles in this area. The second group gives you a glimpse of the architecture this area offers, and what will be the backdrop of a setup photo later this week. At the end of these images, I’ve also attached a panoramic photo of one street. Pretty beautiful area.
And, just some of the architecture around here…
And here’s a panoramic image of a street. Click the image to view a larger version…
Despite changing plans and days to shoot on, Emily and I still set up and done some portraits in her kitchen. Here you go!
Best part about doing portraits late in the evening is getting to work in your pajamas!
So it’s after 3 AM in the apartment here in NYC. My whole body is sore. I think carrying lighting and camera equipment across lower Manhattan wore my body down a little bit. That, and then realizing I forgot my transmitter so having to run back across a few blocks to get it out of my car. Luckily I had help.
Lee came down from Philadelphia to be in the shot. Cody, a current Louisiana Tech student here on an internship with Dan Saelinger, came over to assist on the shoot. Both helped haul equipment around to a street corner a few blocks off Wall Street, and Cody was instrumental in helping run the camera during the actual shooting.
Let me tell you a bit about the scene. When I originally was casting for images on this trip, Lee responded to a call and said she was closer to New York, so she’d come down there. She also picked an image that I felt would probably be one of the trickier ones to do. So it would happen right in the biggest city in America. Fun times.
The shot was unofficially called “Pepto Bombs.” In brief, it calls for lots of pepto bismol coating the people in the shot as they respond to an emergency. So after setting up, she and I covered each other in this pink liquid and got down to work in the scene. Definitely the messiest photo I’ve ever done. During the actual shooting, had a few people stopping to watch the process. Worked the image pretty run-and-go style, didn’t want to prolong the stay on this street corner that I was painting pink, but in the end the various takes came out pretty well! Excited to get to really dive into the scene.
With “work” done in the city, it was time to go out and explore the nightlife that it offers. Well, almost time. Sandra, a friend from undergraduate days who now works in New York as a lawyer, came by the shoot and then over to Stephanie’s with us. I set up a portrait station and photographed Stephanie, Sandra, Lee, and Cody.
Here is Stephanie. You might recognize her from the dinosaur portrait years ago.
Sandra, who was rocking a cast on her broken foot!
Lee, whose first take was the best!
And Cody, wonder-assistant!
Afterwards, we went to Time Square, saw the ad-overload, checked out the glass Apple store, saw the NBC studios and Radio City, headed over to Washington Plaza, walked around the NYU campus, had my first falafel in a restaurant near there, and in general, lots of walking and taking things in. Looking forward to coming back here more frequently, since I’ll be just a couple hours away starting in August.
Tomorrow is Boston! The goal is to wake up and be on the road by 11 AM. We’ll see how well my body allows that plan to proceed.
I leave you with production photos, courtesy of Cody Bryant. And, like an idiot, despite all of the images shot today, I forgot to take a cast photo from the scene. I’m kicking myself, too, because adorned in pepto bismol would have been amazingly fantastic. Well… what can you do, I guess. I suppose this is where the imagination will have to come into play. Oh well… photos!
And, here are a few more sights from walking about, exploring NYC. Images of me were taken by Cody.
Some shots from the iPhone…
One final image to leave you with, is a panoramic I made of the WTC construction site. Click the image below to see a much larger version…
So today I set out from Maryland to New York City. My friend Stephanie lives on Wall Street and I’ll be crashing there Friday and Saturday night. My plan was to get in Friday, find parking, get settled, and then go explore the area in search of a great spot to make a photo Saturday. A girl named Lee is coming into the city from Philly on Saturday to be in a photo that involves lots of Pepto Bismol! Cody Bryant, a photography student at Louisiana Tech who is here on an internship for the summer, will also be coming to the photoshoot to assist and participate, and just hang out as two LA Tech folks in the biggest city in America!
For the travel, I took the New Jersey turnpike for about two hours. Pretty easy, peaceful driving, honestly.
Along the way I stopped at one of their frequent traveler areas and stumbled across something I apparently have never noticed before. Do all DC license plates say “Taxation without Representation” or was this added in jest?
Now I’ll admit, I’ve never been to NYC before, so it was a pretty nice delight to see the skyline pop over a horizon while driving. Here’s my first photo of it…
Once I came out of the tunnel, that easy driving was over. I found myself in the middle of 5 PM traffic. Heard a few horns, cut a few people off, was cut off a few times myself… took almost an hour to travel the 1-2 miles to Stephanie’s place and find the parking garage. Of course that’s including the one exit I missed right after I came into the city and had to backtrack because of.
But, all’s well. After bringing all of my stuff up, I set out to explore around the area. Both looking for a location, and because, hey, I’m in New York so there are handfuls of famous things to walk by and check out. I’ll leave you with a few of the sights I came across while walking about. They’re touristy, yeah. Tomorrow will be a full day of conceptual imagemaking, plus some traveling into Times Square and all of that jazz.
Here’s Federal Hall, where George Washington was inaugurated. It was also the first Capital under the Constitution and was where the Bill of Rights was drafted.
One of Donald’s many buildings…
Brooklyn Bridge…
Right before going into the tunnel, traffic slowed to a stop. This man was just wandering aimlessly between the cars…
The view outside of the living room where I’m staying…
A potential photography spot for tomorrow. Corner of Wall Street and… something…
Looking up…
This is where the Twin Towers were. Now, they’re doing construction to create a new tower. This is only a few blocks away from where I’m staying.
So there are two photo approaches taking place on this trip. When I’m at someone’s house, I use this opportunity to make a portrait of them and have a fun experience in the process, giving them a special thanks back for their kindness.
I’m also making constructed photographs in each city. So while I’m making these images on the trip, there can be anywhere from 1-3 scenes shot in a day. 200+ takes from each one. Then quickly pack up and either jump on the next local location, or hit the road to a new city. I get a chance to look over the various takes from each photo and make some initial selections of what might work out best, but I can’t seriously work on them until I’m in Maine and have some time to sit down and only focus on editing these images.
But aside from the portraits, I do want to show what all is happening in the other, primary part of the trip. So here is a potential edit from the scene in Fort Washington. I can’t say for certain if the various takes will make it in the final version, or if the color or contrast will be the same, but it’s a starting point to see!
(I also don’t want lots of early version images to pop up on Google image searches, hence the text to at least clarify what you are seeing in the image)
So this August, I’ll be teaching photography at Cecil College as an Assistant Professor of Visual Communications. The school is located in North East, Maryland, so along my trip, I stopped off here for a few days, both as a middle-of-the-trip chance to relax, and also to get a head start on apartment shopping. I’ve stayed with Kristi Eisenberg and her husband, Don, during this time. Kristi is actually the professor at Cecil who retired and I replaced.
Today, along with Dan Krukowsky, who is also a VC professor at Cecil, we drove around various parts of Cecil County, and then met up with Kevin Wisniewski, an English professor at Cecil, to check out some spots in Newark, Delaware. Things look good. I’m excited about relocating here. There are no shortage of living options to choose from.
When I returned to Kristi’s house, we ate and then I set up for some portraits of everyone. By everyone, not only do I refer to Kristi and Don, but also their two dogs, Ginger and Denver. This was my first time making a dog portrait, but I think it turned out pretty well.
Tomorrow I set out for lower Manhattan to meet up with my old friend Stephanie on Wall Street. Should be a fun time, once I finally arrive into the city!
I leave you with the portraits from tonight, and a group shot!
(this was originally written at 9 AM on June 2)
So Tuesday, June 1 started off with four hours of sleep. I finally went to sleep in Columbus between 8-9 AM. I had to be in Maryland in the evening, so my alarm was set for noon. By 1 PM, I said my goodbyes to the gang and was off on the road again. I’d say for the first hour, I was still going on adrenaline. By the second hour, somewhere around the West Virginia to Pennsylvania border, exhaustion started creeping up. Best way to solve that? Stop off in Wendy’s for a sitdown cheeseburger.
While I sat there eating, a teenage boy was being interviewed for a job there. Nothing abnormal, but the scene reminded me of the time I was interviewed to work at Chic-Fi-Lay during my first quarter at Louisiana Tech (and to this day, the only job I was ever fired from, but I suppose that’s a different tale). The seriousness the manager portrayed while conducting the interview, but his casualness to quickly strike up conversations with customers in line while this kid sat, stoically in his seat never flinching, just felt like entry-level employment.
Here’s a visual of my breakfast/lunch/energizer people watching…
So the meal done the trick. I was back on the road with a refreshed feeling. It was a total of 8-9 hours traveling. The drive went from Ohio, into West Virginia, into Pennsylvania, then West Virginia again… after driving easy flat, straight stretches of highway through Iowa, the Appalachian mountains were a sudden jolt. I think I reached an elevation of 2,300 feet, although typically hovered in the low to mid 1,000 range. Big difference between going up and down in the midwest and over here, is when you’re coming down there, the roads stay straight. Here, you get to swing some mild curves while picking up speed on the descent with 18-wheelers around you.
In Maryland, I stopped off for gas. Met a guy named Cory (a fellow redhead, I might add) who is a businessman in the area. He commented on my Louisiana plates and inquired about what brought me to Maryland, and I told him about the trip. Struck up a conversation, eventually even traded business cards. Who knows what it might lead to, but it’s always fun meeting random people while on the road.
So around 10 PM, I finally arrived in Fort Washington, Maryland, about 30 minutes south of Baltimore, to shoot with Jamar and his wife, Shaka. I’ve actually known Jamar for about 12 years now, dating back to time we spent in online wrestling-themed writing organizations. He’s building up his photography skills right now, too, so it felt like a good time to both catch up on life and maybe offer some advice while creating some imagery. His parents let us use their basement, so I set up a portrait session first and photographed the both of them. If you’ve been photographed in a portrait on this trip, you have an idea of some of the questions. Their answers were “milk,” too.
Then came time to set up a story scene. The original plan was to photograph the chachacha image, but his larger family was already in bed by the time of my arrival, and that image needs a decent-sized group of people. Soo… I decided to build a story around the elements of the living space. We incorporated the stairs leading down to the basement to make an evacuation scene. Took about three hours, from setup to breakdown, because the concept was being finessed as lights and angles were adjusted.
Around this time, I learned that my place to crash at in Baltimore fell through. After shooting, decided I’d have to get a hotel room. Jamar looked up some local Marriott rooms available using his employee discount and found one in Arlington, Virginia.
At this point, it’s past 4 AM, maybe even close to 5 AM. It’s been a long night of shooting and I’m still running on that little sleep I had back in Ohio. We packed up the vehicle and Jamar and Shaka led me through DC and into Virginia where the hotel was. I should add this was my first time in DC, so it was a treat to see the Capital, Monument, and Lincoln Memorial while cruising down the interstate with commuters getting a head-start on their workday.
We arrive in Arlington and find the Marriott. Here’s where it gets interesting. They head back to Maryland and I go inside. I tell them my name and say that Jamar will be back tomorrow with the paperwork they need before I check out, so I get the friends and family discount. Even though this was standard procedure with him in past dealings, this particular hotel needs the paperwork before I check in. So I quickly call Jamar and tell him this. It’s almost 5:30 AM, but they turn around and come back to the hotel. We figure it’d be an easy 3 minute printout of the form in their business lobby, then everyone can go to bed.
Except when Jamar gets to the computer, logs in, and pulls up the paperwork, their printer won’t print. We tried on every computer available in this area, and not a single one would print the form. So I go to the front desk and inform the worker that their printer isn’t working properly. He sends a guy over to see the situation. By see, I mean just literally see. The man, in so many words, goes “Well that’s weird that it isn’t printing. Hmm… well, we need that form to get the discount.”
So Jamar goes, “Well, here it is in your computer. And I am hitting print to print a copy on your printer. And, it isn’t working.”
“Well, we need that form to process it.”
“Your printer is not working. What are you expecting me to do?”
“Print that form.”
“It’s right here on this screen. I see it. You see it. Your hotel’s printer doesn’t.”
So the guy at the desk then says if Jamar has his employee ID, we’ll use that. Jamar goes, “I’ve been out all night and don’t typically carry that on me. The procedure I’m telling you has been standard in every other instance.”
“We need that form.”
Fine. At this point it’s around 6:30 AM. So we leave the hotel and decide to go to another hotel and use their business lobby computer and printer to print the form. After asking the front desk where it was, we informed that it only for guests. Well, yes.
We walk back out and at this point, due to the time in the morning, some space has freed up at his place so I can just crash there. So I cancel my hotel reservation (twice in two nights) and proceed to drive back into DC and through to Maryland. In a nice touch, where I’m staying is just off I-95, which is what I get on to head to North East, Maryland, later today.
As I write this, it’s almost 9 AM. I’m still running on the 4 hours of Ohio sleep and have driven 9 hours in-between, shots portraits and a nighttime exterior scene, been in and out and back in to a multitude of states and/or a district. But really, in the end, it’s all part of a journey that really shines when the plan changes a bit and the travel must adapt.
(and now, as I write this, it’s 1 AM on June 3… enjoy some production photos from the setup last night, courtesy of Jamar and Shaka Short!)
And the cast photo!
And here is video from a delirious 6 AM drive through DC. You can see the Washington Monument in the background at one point, but really what you don’t see is all of the typical traffic! Note to those reading this on facebook, the video won’t show up unless you view the original post by clicking the link at the bottom.
Finally able to do a first pass edit on some portraits made while in Columbus. Here we have Pete, Susan, Ben, and Emily. Pete and Susan were in the constructed photo that night, while Ben and Emily were the actual residents of the house who were pulled in for some portrait fun!
While driving, I don’t really stop off a lot just to look around. If something is particularly interesting, like a cheeseburger shop, I’ll swing by. Scheduling out things to do in cities separated by 300-400 miles each day does present certain scenic hurdles. But the landscape, in this instance from Minnesota to Maryland, was a constantly evolving transition. Here are some photos, mostly shot while driving.
Rochester, MN, where I stayed two nights at the Gjere residence.
Wisconsin, just off the highway
Also in Wisconsin
Illinois had these interesting rest area/gas stations. If you took the exit, you were greeted with gas pumps and a rest area that extended entirely over the interstate. Once while passing under one, I looked up in the window to see a man sitting in a chair eating.
Exiting a stormy Chicago.
This was near Columbus, Ohio. On one level, I love the incredible convenience. On the other… I don’t know.
This was the source of 4 AM pizza in Columbus, Ohio, with Pete and Ben.
These photos are either from Pennsylvania or West Virginia. Lots of mountain climbing during that leg of the trip.
This field had the most interesting pathways. It was a drive straight toward it, before veering left.
And a photo including the barn…
And, for a convenience store that might be a worthy competitor to the Kum and Go, I bring you…
