Ron - Polaroid Work

I continue to explore the use of Fuji instant film and an old Polaroid camera. At this point I am thinking that this method may be very important in my future photography. Here are some recent photographs (click on the photographs to enlarge):

Kewanna, IN

Kewanna, Indiana

Hamilton County, Indiana

I am especially happy with the Kewanna Water Tower and Hamilton County photographs.  In the HamCo photograph I was able to convey the surreal scale of the scene by using a combination of foreground, the main subject and the distant background.  The quality of the negative adds to the mystery.  I just happened to come upon this scene while driving to dinner and, needless to say, we were late for dinner.

Video - Discussion 1

Mike and Ron discuss the current state of photography and their project, 2 Photographers Works In Progress. Video by Satch.

Mike- Post VI

Gone – When I go back to my small town, I feel that the town that I see is not the town that I remember.  That town is gone. Businesses are gone, retail stores are gone, drug stores are gone.  “Out of sight, out of mind,” may be true.  Deceptively powerful is the impact of place on our memories and once the places are gone, what happens to the memory?  Once you are gone, does the memory then die?  Or does it live on through others?  “Gone” is a pretty powerful term in that it suggests “no more.”  I could have made the choice through my photographs to match photos of buildings the “way they used to be” with “they way they are today.”  But that would be too easy.  Instead, I have climbed into the deeper abyss that challenges us all to keep our memories alive through the people we love today.  My images confront the reality of that potential loss of memory of things we hold most dear.  It is up to us to show and talk about those memories for them to continue on after we are gone.

Mehling's Drug store - This was one of two or three drugstores that had been on the square at one time.  Mehling's was about a ten minute walk from the high school that has been torn down for many years.  The old brick school building had gradually deteriorated over time and apparently, it was decided that a new school building was in order.  I had gone to the old high school and was in the first graduating class of the new school.  I recall seeing small pieces of plaster fall from the ceiling and mice scurrying around the old building. 

For many years, Mehling's had a lunch counter and booths where teenagers and other townspeople would come to eat the typical cheeseburgers, fries, and sodas.  About 1968 or 1969, all of that was removed and was the last of its kind in the downtown.  Probably in 1969 or so, I started to work there part-time.  I would basically keep the store and the rear stock areas cleaned up and would also take newly arrived merchandise to stock the shelves.  The pharmacist and owner was Mr. Pat Mehling.  The store manager was Mr. Sam Hollis.  You don't get any more "Andy of Mayberry" than with a name like Sam Hollis. 

For several years after that time period, new businesses were built at the north edge of town.  A Marsh grocery store and a nearby fast food restaurant were built on the site where in the 1950s and 1960s had been the Jones Dairy.  Our next door neighbor, Mr. Bob Jones (who would head the cast in my version of Hartford City's Mayberry), had delivered milk in the city from that dairy.  As with the changing times in many small towns in our country, Mr. Mehling could hold out no longer and eventually sold out his business and went to work for Marsh as their in-store pharmacist. 

Here are images of the building along with the old and faded sign that would slowly turn during the day in the place that once was Mehling's Drug store.  A knick-nack store has occupied this space for many years.  From cheeseburgers and conversation to cheap figurines --- go figure.

Ron - Polaroid Work and Truth From Perceptions

Self Portrait

I am exploring making images using Polaroid cameras (a Polaroid 420 and a Spectra 2) with Fuji and Impossible Project instant materials.

In the past, Polaroid Type 55 Pos/Neg 4"x5" was my workhorse film.  That film has been discontinued for quite some time.

I am excited about the possibilities that I am seeing.  With regard to the instant photograph, do I simply have this photograph as the single original or do I scan it and enlarge it through digital printing?  These are a couple of questions that I haven't answered yet.  Making books of these images is another possibility.

So, here are some recent "Polaroid" photographs and a video by Satch.

9-29-2011

9-29-2011

I have completed the first phase of Truth From Perceptions. There are about 135 photographs from which to cull the exhibit. I have made over 500 negatives during the last nine months. Now the editing begins. In some cases I will be presenting differing perspectives and "contact prints" that will show the process by which I came to the final image.


This project has caused my thinking about my photography to be more focused and I foresee big changes coming. Final decisions and discussion about these changes will come after the exhibit.

Mike- Post V

Montgomery Wards



Montgomery Wards




Mehling's Drug Store



Forgotten – No one wants to be forgotten.  “Remember me” is a poignant and timeless request made by many.  The same goes with places.  In this time of fabricated throw-away buildings and look-a-like structures, there is something wonderful about an old building that has been standing for over a century.  And yet, and yet, there is such little regard for the weathered buildings of the past that stand either deserted in the center of once was my bustling small town.  Long forgotten are the summer nights on the courthouse square where families would gather to enjoy the county fair.  The sounds of rides, the smells of fair food, and the displays, exhibits, and souvenirs all nestled together in the heart of our small downtown for an unforgettable county fair.  Or, was it unforgettable?  As you stand on the courthouse square today, you would never know.  Again, it’s the disconnect between the present and the past that my photographs attempt to capture to make the point that it is our memories which tend to blur the reality of the past with the present.  It’s almost like I wish I could step through the photographic image back into the time that is preserved through my memories to see the small town once again that I remember.

Ron - Michigan this Week

Satch and I had an excellent visit to New Buffalo and Union Pier on Wed - Friday.  We delivered Satch's new work to Craig Smith Gallery at the historic Gordon Beach Inn.  A portion of Satch's work will be headed to Craig's space in Oak Park where he will be presenting an exhibit of new work by Harry Borgman, whose work Satch and I adore.

On Thursday evening we had dinner with Craig and Harry at Timothy's, also at the Gordon Beach Inn, which was great fun.  It is always good to visit with Harry.

We also had time to explore and make photographs.  We ended up in this pretty wild place.  Hopefully I will have photographs to share soon on the 2 Photgraphers Facebook page and here on the blog.