Assembly Line Portraits

Another year shooting Greek Composites at colleges around the country. I’m not sure how long I will keep doing this, as I have said before. I have all these ideas about making money by blogging, or reselling stuff on eBay, or writing little info products of one kind or another to sell on Etsy or …

Being on the road is fun and it’s not fun at all. I’ve had more than one Company tell me over the years that they aren’t paying me to go on vacation, that I’m working. Of course, that’s true, but only partially. People like me don’t drive around the country because it’s the only job …

“Wow.” The Student I’m photographing says with a bit of awe in his voice. “You get to travel around the country? Cool.” “Yeah.” I say and nod since smiling under my mask doesn’t convey much of a message. “It is.” I started this kind of work some time ago. Twenty-five years or so ago. My …

“Let’s go out and shoot tomorrow.” The Woman I work with said. “We can go downtown or maybe find a park or a cemetery.” “Sounds good.” I said and finished packing up for the day. “I’ve got a new lens I’ve been wanting to try out.” “That’s a waste of time.” Another photographer said from …

“We have to cancel. We have someone who tested positive for Covid.” “Sorry to hear that.” I replied. “Hope everyone recovers soon.” I’ve been back at work for a few months and I’ve had at least one cancellation and as many as three cancellations each and every week. To be honest, I continue to be …

“Your pictures looked good.” The Lab Guy says in total amazement. “Thanks.” I say and think about shooting outside in the hot sun on that first day back at work. “Glad you like them.” “I know this is challenging.” He says. “But we have to do what the clients want.” Covid hasn’t just gone away. …

“What are we going to do different?” I asked the Boss. “That’s what everyone keeps asking.” He said and sounded a bit put out by the question. “The clients want to know what we’ll be doing to keep everyone safe.” “And what have you told them?” “That’s we’ll be doing deep cleaning.” He said and …

“Your white balance is off.” The Tech Guy from the Home Office tells me. “We can’t spend all our time fixing your images.” “I’ve been have problems since you sent me that new camera.” I said and huffed out a breath in exasperation. “Can’t you just return the old camera? The one that worked?” “It’s …

“You’re getting a shopping cart?” My co-worker asked me as we entered the Goodwill. “You really expect to find that much stuff?” “You never know.” I said as I looked around like a hunter in search of fresh prey. “You might find a lot of good stuff.” As it turns out, I didn’t find much …