Out of the Ashes (World Wide Photo Walk - 2013 - Detroit)

I have been writing.  I just haven't felt that I have anything worth publishing.  There's a big ole snowstorm looming and it seemed like a good time to revisit some of my "drafts".  This one stood out today because I have been thinking of grabbing up my camera and trekking out to capture some winter shots.  As I re- read what I have written, another concern comes to the surface of my thoughts.  Heidelberg.  It would seem that someone wants to burn it to the ground.  I know people don't always "get it" when it comes to the Heidelberg.  I don't expect everyone to "get it", but I DO expect everyone to respect it.  I am sickened by the blatant bully with a box of matches that would seek to stifle the creative voice.  Personally, I think Heidelberg is as important to Detroit as Duchamp's "Fountain" was/is to modern art.  Duchamp's "Fountain" is a bookmark tucked in the pages of our art history.  It marks the moment we begin to see things in a different way.  It marks the moment we begin to notice the beauty in the mundane and grotesque.  Heidelberg is the moment in Detroit's history when we begin to see the voice of the common man.  He is opinionated and concerned.  He is compassionate and hopeful.  And we notice.  Something significant has happened here on Heidelberg Street and I am inclined to think we should preserve it. That is my rock solid opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree.  That is okay with me.  I am not asking you to throw money at it.  Please, just don't burn it.  Have enough respect for another mans opinion to just not burn it.

The following is the "draft" written after attending my first organized photowalk last summer:
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Part I - Technically Speaking

I went on my first ever "photo walk" this weekend.  I had one simple goal, that was to learn to use at least two unfamiliar features of my camera.  I sat up the night before the walk, reading my camera's manual.  I decided upon a few features that I was determined to use, and familiarized myself once again, with a few old basics.  We started out early in the morning with a trip to Detroit's Eastern Market.  It was a dark rainy morning and the lighting proved to be a delightful challenge for this novice.  It was in this moment that I had chosen to figure out that little lightening bolt button to the side of the flash.  I have always avoided using my built in flash because it washed everything out, created awful shadows and just didn't seem to travel very far.  I had a friend with me that has a similar camera.  She's managed to learn a thing or two along the way, and she gleans a bit from me at times.  Together, we managed quite nicely.  Although I am not completely satisfied with the flash images, I have made significant progress in my ability to control the flash lighting.

The next stop was "The Heildelberg Project".  The night before our visit, one of the houses burned to the ground.  It was still smoldering.  Again, I found the challenge in catching the faint wisps of smoke rising up out of the pile that was once a house, once an artists statement.  The sky was white and overcast and offered no contrast that would make the smoke visible.  I was forced to look deeper into the backdrop of my subject.  This proved to be a good exercise.

Our final stop was a couple of homes in the historic Indian Village area of Detroit.  Once again, I was challenged with lighting. With the significant number of photographers in one place, all shooting at once, respectful dodging and ducking out of sight became a bit of a challenge as well.  I was a little more timid about shooting in the houses.  I take too long to get my shot, so I settled with a few quick pics and made a point to just get out of the way of the more experienced photographers.  The houses were a challenge for another walk for me.


Part  2 - Finding the Art

Aside from the delightful technical challenges of the photo walk, I found myself energized by simply looking through my camera's lens. I am searching for the story that Detroit wants to tell me.  We are having a talk, the city and I, about love and fear.

At Eastern Market, my thoughts turned to the interactions of the people.  The diversity of cultures within the city and the happiness of the people were apparent.  There were smiles and laughter and music in abundance.  The care and attention to detail in the display of goods was amazing.  There was pride in those piles of produce.  There was prosperity in an impoverished city.  I came in from the suburbs with a fairly expensive camera hanging from my neck.  And I wasn't afraid.

At Heildelberg I noticed that the tree/ sculpture was smoking like a chimney.  I thought it was deliberate and I wondered how it was done. Only after realizing that the house had burned to the ground only the night before, did I make the connection.  It wasn't long before the fire truck arrived to extinguish the tree and revisit the smoldering house.  Fate could not have orchestrated a better teachable moment for the more than 50 photographers standing around the scene.  There was action shots, reflective puddles, steam, mud, smoke.... and a stray cat.  Fate had much more than just the technical challenges. All of it fit in with the art.  All of it fit the story of the art.  All of it echo the conversation the art was having with me.  I needed my images to capture the smoke, the steam, the mud, the puddles of water, and I needed to capture the artists story that still lived inside of the chaos and cooling embers.

 

Random thoughts: 

      Micheal Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" 

      I found Waldo

      the "I Want You" statue

The art still speaks.  It says, "Go ahead, kill me.  Throw a big boulder in front of my tomb.  Bring it.  You can't kill hope.  You can't kill love.  You can't kill faith. 

The Heidelberg project is an entire brain full of comments all spoken at once.  Not everybody "gets it".  I find that when you look at it through the lens of a camera, it helps you isolate the messages and see them in bite size pieces.  I am told that the artist himself is a bit of a recluse.  I disagree.  He may not come out of his house to visit with you.  He doesn't need to.  It is as if he never left the yard.  Everything he has to say is being said.  There's enough conversation happening out there for a lifetime!

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That is as far as my "draft" went.  Today, I don't have anything more to add, except perhaps, a few more images.