Truck #22

It seems like it has been a long time since I posted here. I have been finishing the photos to be used in exhibition at Project Uplifts 20th Anniversary Gala this coming March AND putting the special edition book together as well. The book will have my photos of a group of homeless men and women here in Kansas City and it will also have their stories written by my wife Patti.

This has been an ambitious project. It was started last spring and we could easily spent two years working on it before it would be ready but because of the Gala March 31st we had a deadline. It was difficult keeping all the facts straight working so quickly. I’ve met some amazing people both at Uplift and on the street. As we have been following this group, one has gotten sober and on medication. He also has all his ID now and is working toward section 8 housing. A success. Another fellow was arrested for murder and awaits trial, Another moved out of the city to where his daughter lives. He found her on Facebook. Another fellow had an accident and passed away. It has been quite a ride and I’m so very glad Uplift gave me the chance to do this.

I will share a few photos taken while working on this but I can’t release any of the people shots. After March of 2011 I will have them available for sale.

I think they noticed me today. Some people have asked what the hand was attached to. The entire monster was too big to take in with one look. I just suddenly saw the hand moving toward the sky and snapped my camera. When I turned to see what it belonged to I was terrified. It was a huge slow-moving creature made up of midnight and dead leaves. It was truly a horror. It seemed to rise up from the ground growing as I watched. I started to back away and fell. Then it noticed me. A face, if you could call it one, was black and pieces of flesh were dripping off only to be replaced by new flesh. It moved slowly. It started to turn toward me then vanished.

No one around me had noticed a thing. The smell of rotting flesh hung in the air as a link. It was real but what reality? I quickly scrambled up a small incline and went to my car. I got in and felt safe. It was a false safety. I knew at any moment these thing could appear. If those hands grabbed me I would be dead. This thing, this monster left me feeling lost and without power even. I’d lost my benchmarks, my familiar surroundings.

Then today. Oh I was ready. Camera at hand working at my desk suddenly it got dark in my office. I looked up to see what it was and I saw this. I have no idea what it is or even how it function but it can fly without flapping its’ wings. If thats what they are. This bat thing floated motionless in front of my office window. It was looking at me. I could feel its stair. Then gone. Just gone. In an instant gone. I had the presence of mind to get one shot off. All I know is it’s all wrong.

This has been a very fascinating project. It won’t be presented until March 2011 but the preparation is ongoing right now. Once I get the photos edited the way I want them I will print them no smaller that 20×24. I think larger. I am thinking that the B&W photos may be done on silver gelatin and the color printed with inkjet technology. The way I’m leaning is toward making them like competition prints. That means they will be mounted on a mat board or other material to a specific thickness then hangers added to the back.

I like the idea of the photographs not being in frames and mats and all that. When people buy them they will just reframe them anyway. This way there is no framing treatment competition going on with the piece. For a show I did during my college days I mounted all the prints and put them between two pieces of glass with a hangar. I’ve not done that since so I think minimalist is the way I’m going.

To get a preview and help out if you wish click HERE.

The image here is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photograph. It was taken with a Nikon D2Xs on a tripod. Nine bracketed images were made and then blended together to maximize the detail.