Roofers atop office building is My Final Photo for May 21, 2013
I understand how important it is that I be supportive for someone who goes to the doctor. I’m the parent, the patriarch, the navigator, and the person with a calming voice. I often accompany others in the family for their visits because it’s my duty. It’s also my way of helping them get through the emotion, fear, and pain of an illness or injury.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t have a camera with me.
Today’s visit to the doctor was more private than most and I doubt anyone would want photos of the brief procedure or injured body part. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t be using my camera.
Around the corner from the Dublin doctor’s office a roofing crew removed wooden shingles from a large office building. While the doctor examined and approved private parts, I took photos.
With the efficiency of a very small tornado, the crew of eight men ripped, rolled, and removed one half of the western slant of the roof before most of the workers arrived at the adjacent complex.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve shot roofers although it is one of the larger projects. Finding different angles and action is always the attempt at a better photo.
The western sky was clear, a sign that the day would be bright and warm. The roofers worked in shadow under the edge of a slowly moving bank of thick clouds beginning to dissipate as the sun rose higher in the sky. The cloud’s edge eventually dissolved into strips creating a new compositional element that would become a key element in My Final Photo for today.
Landscape crew poses for portrait before beginning their work day, man, woman, pick-ax
On the way back I stumbled upon a three-person landscape crew with two men in shorts and t-shirts carrying trays of petunias and a woman dressed in the company uniform shirt and shorts carrying a small pick-ax. Without going into all the discussions about the crew’s history, what their plans for the day were, and their individual stories, I convinced them to pose for a group portrait before beginning their work for the day. I hope you approve of the result.
Family watching son’s baseball game is My Final Photo for May 20, 2013
There are moments when the unexpected reveals itself in ways you can’t explain. Please enjoy this brief moment from today’s nearby youth baseball games.
Scrambled eggs with salt and pepper, hash browns, Jimmy Dean sausage, whole wheat toast with peanut butter and grape jelly. My Final Photo for May 19, 2013
Began the day with another in the ‘Blue Plate Special” series with my iPhone. Not sure how long this will last as there are many repeat meals during the week and I’m guessing anyone who begins to study the series will get tired of seeing another plate of scrambled eggs and toast, or hamburger with cheese, or leftover spaghetti and meatballs. I also strayed from the original plate with the checked edge. I’ll have to return to that. looking for a bowl with the same design.
While on my bike, which didn’t survive the ride, stopped in for photos after the Otterbein University graduation ceremonies for a photo that, if I were still working for a news organization, would have made a fine state feature photo. You get to see it here.
Otterbein University graduates jubilate when asked by their parents to jump for a photo.
Mother and son at docks on Hoover Reservoir is My Final Photo for May 17, 2013
Today’s photo is slightly different than most I select for My Final Photo. At least it has a different treatment.
The scene is relatively ordinary. A mother helps her family lead their boat onto the trailer at a loading dock at Hoover Reservoir.
The unusual aspect is the brightly painted aluminum 1958 Starcraft with a 1959 Johnson 7-½ Sea Horse motor. The family has owned it for several summers but often have taken to the serene waters of Hoover in a pontoon boat.
As their son get older the pleasure of a water outing is more often towards the Starcraft. Even with the lowered engine limits on the lake, the family enjoys the speed and maneuverability of this boat.
This was the boat and motor of my youth. My father, a World War II veteran who revered life after war, built two houses. on Lake Hutchinson in central Florida. The first was nothing more than a foundation, concrete floor, a pedestal of block walls and old growth pine boards more like a work shed than a weekend retreat. No matter that the walls never kept our strong rain storms or hungry mosquitos.
A hand painted sign over the door named our weekend retreat “Jan’s Juke” after my mother. The family, especially my younger brother and sister, thought it a great name. My mother took it in stride despite the somewhat sinister and illegal operations of a “Juke joint” just over the county line where alcohol could be served.
The structure was later replaced with a normal lake house with bedrooms, a bathroom, screened front porch, and running water. Running water no longer meant running down to the lake with a bucket for water. The old house became storage for our summer supplies, still with the sign over the door.
iPhone version of the mid-century family
As I studied this family returning from their excursion I remembered my youth and the joy of family on the water.
Even as I shot the photos I knew I wanted to use a Photoshop plugin and smart layers to add a retro look as a visual reminder of those times. My father was an avid photographer shooting Kodachrome for the important moments so I ran the photo through onOne Perfect Effects for the grungy slide look and added a contrasty, warm color lookup table for the final color.
The triplets from Wooster who were celebrating their first birthday at Jimmy V’s after visiting the St. Paul School class that created a prayer chain while mom was in the hospital waiting for their birth. Abigail, Brandon, and Claire are doing fine after being born at 27 weeks weighing a total of six pounds.
All this reminded me of the video I’d watched earlier in the day.
Wonder why I’m a photographer? Because these stories surround us. I have a camera and ask others to talk with me. Photographs and stories are one result. You don’t need a camera to ask others to talk with you. Everyone has a story. Learn to ask. Learn to listen.
