Occupy Richmond Raided

I have gotten indications that Occupy Richmond was raided last night by the Richmond Police.  I do not know more details at this time, but please follow them at http://occupyrva.org/ and voice your support for their right to peacefully assemble whenever you can.  Thank you.

 

Occupy, Identified

It has occurred to me that the picture painted in the media of the Occupy movement is being done so with a very wide brush and limited color palette.  There seems to be a lot of interest in identifying those involved as hippies, drug users, or young people that do not know any better.  From conversations among my friends and peers, many of whom are small business owners that identify with the principles of the movement, I suspected there to be more diversity and genuine concern for our country than we are being shown.  Naturally, the only way to know for sure is to mosey on down there for yourself and talk to the good folk, something I recommend everyone do.

I did.  On a cold and dreary, rainy and sleety Friday afternoon, I struck out for the Occupy Richmond gathering at Kanawha Plaza with the purpose of meeting people, asking who they are, and why they are there.  More often than not, I got much more than just that.  I’ve got to say, this is largely a diverse group of very intelligent people who share genuine concern for our country and the survival of its lower and middle classes.

My intention was to capture photos of these people, and couple them with a little bit about their subjects and why they feel the need to be involved.  I did my best to keep up with what they were saying, but I am no reporter and I had no recorder – what you will see below is actually paraphrased to the best of my ability.  There were themes, however, that kept coming up among everyone I spoke to:  the inequity of income distribution in the US;  joblessness;  homelessness;  and, almost universally, everyone spoke of the joy and sense of purpose that grew from what they were creating peacefully together, there in the shadow of the Richmond Federal Reserve.

 

My Experience 10 Years Ago Today

Ten years ago, I was about 40 miles from NYC in Freehold, NJ, scheduled to make photographs of the staff at Centra State Hospital.  It was a beautiful day, and we pulled up and were greeted at the door by the news that a plane had hit a building in New York.  Information was still sketchy at that point, but as folks watched things unfold on TV and we all tried to wrap our heads around what was going on, it became clear that hospital staff photos were VERY low on the priority list for the day.  In fact, the hospital basically locked down and was on alert for the possibility of the arrival of casualties.  By the time the second plane hit, it was clear this was no accident, and the events taking place on every TV in the building had a surreal feeling to them.  What brought clarity to the moment, for me, was when we went to the top floor of the building, looked off to the north and saw the crystal clear blue sky pierced on its edge by a dirty grey cloud jetting off to the east, a harbinger of the new world in which we would find ourselves.  It was as if someone had pierced the skin of an engorged and infected earth, releasing the vile guts in a stream of death.  The impression it made on me was powerful, but at the time I could not imagine what folks were going through beneath that cloud at that very moment.

Soon after, we received word that a plane had gone down in western Pennsylvania, and I instantly felt the need to find a cell phone signal and talk to my mother, who at the time lived in Indiana, PA.  Of course, she was OK, but my mind continued to swirl, trying to comprehend what this crazy thing meant for me, my family, my country, my world.

I don’t recall just how long we stayed at the hospital that day, but I remember the feeling I had when overhearing some folks talk in the hotel bar that evening who had been on the 34^th floor of one of the towers.  At first, it was awe, but then became fear at the thought of whatever it was they might be contaminated with.  Fear is a powerful emotion and, while I was able to shake it off as being absurd in that barroom, it was something we needed to become accustomed to, as it was to be exploited over the next few years for ill cause.

The next morning we arrived again at the hospital to learn that perhaps a dozen or so folks had found their way out of New York City and required treatment at the hospital.  While it was not the mass casualty scene we had feared, folks still were not ready to engage in anything as frivolous as staff photos.  So we made our way back to Richmond.

Normally, our ride home would take us through Baltimore and Washington D.C.  Knowing that would not be a good idea, we hit the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and headed west to my old stomping ground of Carlisle where we caught route 81 South.  That drive was punctuated by silence, and the wonder of another crystal clear blue sky, unscathed by any jet stream save for one- a single, high altitude representation of the high alert status on which we find ourselves to this day.  After about 7 hours on highways filled as much with police cars as any other, I was never happier to be home.

 

It was Twenty Years Ago Today…

The title of this blog is “Impressions,” for it’s focus is, on one level, the visual and written impressions I put forth, and on another level, the impressions placed upon me that lead to such creativity.  In the latter sense, it is appropriate to discuss, as I have in the past, inspirations in my life, and today I am thinking about the greatest inspiration I can ever imagine having.

A mere twenty years ago today, two young, bright-eyed, naive, and happy souls made a commitment to one another within the walls of a quaint church in a small village in upstate New York.  The day was gray and, later, the rain was plentiful, but this did not dampen the spirits of the couple, nor of the 150 or so friends and family that traveled long distances to watch the spectacle.  In fact, the day was perfect, and the joy I experienced lingers.

Fast forward a couple decades and you will find an older and somewhat wiser couple, since joined on this journey by two outstanding young men, still basking in the glow of that day.  In fact, the glow is brighter and stronger now, as the love shared is larger than those two handsomely attired young fools ever could have known possible.

As the older and somewhat wiser groom of that day years ago, I can say my bride continues to be my inspiration and my muse for not only my work, but my life in general.  Betty, you inspire me in ways large and small, and the family we have created together is such a blessing in my life.  I cannot imagine a better fit and I know I am lucky you found me all those years ago.

 

Rain Storms Yield Stunning Skies

Once again, we ventured off to Sandbridge Beach last week to chill with the extended family.  Last year, I blogged in pictures each day we were there, and my intention was to do that this year as well.  But, since my laptop croaked a couple months ago and I have yet to replace it, it would not have been easy to update everyday.  So, the camera came out very little, excepting of course the family group photo (and a cutie of Allie and Madi).  Those shots can be seen on Facebook.

We had our share of rain during the week, though it never seemed to ruin our day.  In fact, the crazy storms most often occurred in the evening and on one night in particular, as they yielded their grip on the skies, we were treated to a stunning display of light and color and diffraction and texture and motion.  Really was something.  Of course, the camera made it to the beach for that.  Enjoy…

 

A New Stage in Life

About two weeks ago, my baby boy walked across a stage in cap and gown, and picked up his well earned high school diploma, complete with honors.  Though I don’t think it has fully sunk in just yet, the vibe in the house seems different.  While Betty and I will always be there to provide help and advice to Nathan, there is a sense that, to a small degree, our job is done.  The decisions in his life from this point forward will be his to make, and the consequences of those decisions will be his to bear.

Sounds scary, doesn’t it?  A small part of me feels that way, but when I think back on my life, and many of the emotions I was feeling when I was freshly graduated and the world lay at my feet, I don’t remember being scared.  I was excited, and I imagine Nathan is excited now.  And I am excited for him.

If I ever do feel scared, I just sit back and look at the young man Betty and I have created, and know that we did alright!

©Jeff S. Saxman

©Jeff S. Saxman

Super! ©Jeff S. Saxman

 

Playing with Fire

Had a fun opportunity recently to work on a project for Afton Chemical Company.  We’ve done a few things for them in the past, and they are generally interesting and fun challenges, put forth by Mike Wilson.  For Afton in the past, we have digitally created a fictional “Auto Repair Row,” with a range of vehicles stationed in front (from, I think, about a zillion source images):

And, we have created a jungle scene in the studio (very little post work in this one, actually):

For this most recent one, I got to play with fire.  Literally.  The concept was to show a fireman donning a fire proximity suit proximate to, well, fire.  Intense heat was what we wanted to communicate, as the Afton product provides protection in such situations.

There was discussion of using stock imagery for the fire source, but I really wanted to provide all the source images (and besides, could not pass up an opportunity to set things on fire.)  I started small in the studio with the old lighter and can of hairspray technique.  It was fun, but the resulting flames were too jetted.  A friend told me that corn starch, when blown across a candle, will burst into a fireball, and this was the sort of thing we were after.  So, this time in my backyard, I blew cornstarch across a couple candles, and, sure enough, it does burst into a fireball (as long as you don’t make a direct hit and snuff out the candles, that is, which I did with a fair amount of frequency.)  These were promising, but the technique itself was not quite reliable enough to give me the number of source images I wanted, and, too, the flames were not “rolling” the way I had envisioned.

So, getting impatient, and thus far disappointed my neighbors had not yet called the police, I decided the best way to get what I was after was to build a fire in my fire pit, and douse it with gasoline.  A zip lock baggie was just about the right amount of gas, and provided a handy delivery method.  With the continuous drive on the camera firing away, I dropped about a dozen or so bombs on the fire and ended up with some great source images for my big fireball:

Digitally putting various bits and pieces of these and other source photos yielded a pretty good fireball to begin with:

Believe it or not, about the most difficult part of this job was finding the fire proximity suit.  I had put in calls to several prop houses in California, and I talked to one source that said they could get me the suit.  The cost of rental plus shipping was going to be high, but at least I had found one.  Fortunately, I did not cease looking locally, and heard that the only folks in town that would have one would be the airport fire department.  I made a call over there, and they did indeed have a suit that we could use.  (Side note:  When picking it up, I had the opportunity to drive across multiple runways through the airfield, which, if you have not done it, can be a bit unnerving.)

The challenge in the studio was to photograph Rich in the suit in a manner which would tie in with the light and color of the fireball.  Several gelled lights on either side of the suit, and white lights above and front did the trick, along with some photoshop work on the face shield for dramatic effect.  We wanted to include a reflection, so Rich was photographed standing on black plexi:

And finally, the elements were pieced together with care taken to give the appearance of flames lapping around the subject:

All Photos ©Jeff S. Saxman and may not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent.

 

 

 

“We’re shooting a Duke’s Mayo commercial.”

Back in the day, when I was still assisting, we would often find ourselves on a shoot in a public place, and as assistants we would find ourselves to be the front line between the photographer and/or AD, and the curious general public.  Invariably, bystanders would approach and either ask “Are you making a movie?” or “Will I be on the news?”  Nevermind the fact that we had neither film nor video equipment, but rather still gear and strobe lights.  Popular in Richmond at the time was a collection of Duke’s Mayo ads, and so it became common practice, and a bit of a game, when faced with inquisitive passers-by to answer “We’re shooting a Duke’s Mayonnaise commercial.”  Almost without fail, this elicited responses of great surprise and admiration from the onlookers, and made us feel just a little bit more important.

 

Fast forward 15 years or so, and, believe it or not, I find myself actually producing still content for Duke’s Mayonnaise.  While I cannot say yet we are shooting Duke’s Mayo commercials (though as we get more into video, I am hopeful we can soon), we have been shooting fun photos for the great folks over at CF Sauer and Duke’s for a few years now, including images for ads, packaging, TV, POP, and web.  Here are a few samples of some we did recently, and you can see more if you hit those links above…

©Jeff S. Saxman

 

Virginia Press Association awards

Howdy folks.  Learned last week that I had two images win at this year’s VPA awards, both of which had graced the pages of Richmond Magazine.  We nabbed a first place Sports Feature Photo (I know, I know- you’re saying “Sports photo?  Saxman?”  But, you just never know where inspiration will strike.) for this image of night golfers at Windy Hill golf course:

© Jeff S. Saxman

The other image is a second place Photo Illustration for the 2010 “Top Docs” issue, the process of creating which I had documented earlier on this blog (go ahead, dig for it!).  We got the cover that month as well, but the image recognized was the following, which was an interior double page spread:

© Jeff S. Saxman

 

Jay Sharpe LLC, custom jeweler

Here are a couple images I did recently of Jay’s great custom jewelry designs.  He does great work, and lets me have creative freedom with the photos.

See more of his work (and more of my work OF his work) at WWW.JAYSHARPE.COM.

Images ©Jeff Saxman. No reproduction without prior consent of photographer.