Willard Suitcases / Rodrigo L
Rodrigo was a reader. His collection of books was extensive and interesting.
He was also a bit of a writer. Below is a novel that he wrote that was part of his library.
It is interesting how he changed the dedication.
He must have been working with some sort of editor or teacher, as there are lots of corrections in red ink.
Some of his books were from his days at Salt Lake High School. The collected issues of the school publication “Red and Black” were among his books.
This was the only evidence of his byline that I could find.
Frustrating to have to obscure his surname.
There is so much amazing material here, and I have to keep reminding myself that I am just documenting the collection as a photographer, and not as a social historian. The temptation is to photograph everything that made his life so interesting, but I reckon I would never finish.
Peggy was especially helpful is setting up and organizing our work yesterday. Here is a shot of her cheerful presence in front of a setup for which she was largely responsible. Thanks Peg.
Mail Online / Suitcases
The Mail Online ran a nice article about the suitcases and used lots of photographs. I haven’t had the chance to read the whole piece, and will do so soon, but it looks nice. Here’s the link. I never read comments in articles like this since there are so many trolls about, and it can be distracting to read what other people think of the project. But as Cristine was looking at the story last night she read this one out loud and it really made me laugh on so many levels.
“To jump the queue to photographer fame before learning how to use lights, do what this guy did.”
– VegasWeddingPhotographer, Las Vegas, 10/6/2013 9:30
I am not even sure I can break it down, but as the work has received so much attention, I guess I have to acknowledge some level of “fame”. But the lighting thing is so great as I have never thought of myself as a studio photographer and would admit to not wanting to light these objects as if the were, well …… objects!. My goal with shooting the cases and their contents was to make the photographs look like what they appear to me in my mind’s eye. So for clarification, and to help anyone else who also wants to “jump the queue” I’ll include a photo that Peggy Ross took of me at work. Two strobes and a couple of big ass soft boxes (thanks Alex!). Works for me.
So a hearty welcome to all the new subscribers to this site, and thanks to Mail Online for the exposure.
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