First Friday Photo Friend - Robert Coomer

This month's First Friday Photo Friend is Cincinnati's very own man of steel. Yes, it's true, an infant male landed in the middle of America's Heartland. The child was raised on a farm in  Brown County, Ohio.  As a young boy, he curated and collected scenes made with his toys.  Disillusioned with clean up time the child learned the extraordinary power of drawing his collections. This power would keep those toy curating moments memorialized.  As a young man, he journeys to UC College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning wherein the photographic darkroom he discovered the power of chemicals, silver halide crystals, and red lights. It was then he knew what he was sent here to do. Today he grips a camera in one hand, a power tool in the other, standing in front a pile of metal plates our man of steel emerges. Sanding, painting and creating. Hours turn into days, and days turn into months. Finally, he is finished, giving the world Art in Decay.  He is Robert Coomer.

Years past and Robert grew to maturity... A short break will be taken as the writer seem to be choking on the last sentence. We will return momentarily...

Years past and Robert had grown to maturity when my paths crossed his on a hiking trail in Ohio. His  Lois Lane, Tabby accompanied him.  Each was wearing a camera pack, but Tabby does not shoot.  She was there for the hike and to support her husband. The instant I figured out that Tabby was carrying gear for Robert she gained hero status in my eyes.  Proving behind the Man of Steel is a superhero, a woman, Tabby.

I was intrigued and wanted to know more about Robert's work.  After a bit of internet investigation, I realized Robert was more than the photographer he led me to believe. But what is he hiding?

One night in a parking lot,  under a solitary street lamp I was chatting with a friend when out of the darkness Robert appeared. I decided it was a good to time question him about my suspicions and the rotten art he spoke.  A smile buried deep under the mask of his beard appeared as he answered,  "Art in Decay is my newest body of work, and probably the most artistic. My goal is to build a believable artifact of time, connecting the subject of my image, to the strata that I am printing on. I want the viewer to look at my pieces, especially the steel work, and believe they were made from pieces from within the photo. Maybe I stole a piece of metal off the tin roof of the old house or barn and printed on it?"  Then he turned and opened the back of his SUV. The light flickered, and the wind blew as he shuffled through large felt wrapped bundles.  Unsure what was going to happen next my body began to shake. I forgot my coat and was cold. With the strength of a man that has done the task a hundred times before, Robert started to reveal Art in Decay.  Metal plates made the images come alive. Captivated by the beauty of the industrial print.  I could not look away, it was as if I was entranced by some unknown power.

Our steely man has assumed the disguise of a plaid wearing, mild-mannered photographer. He carries the camera, post to social media, sells his work in galleries and art shows.  But far away from civilization he uses his powers. A piece of steel scarred with pits and rust rises from months of neglect.  Debris fall to the ground as Robert uses his hand to pick up the metal. Utilizing a power-sander he is faster than hand sanding, more powerful than a sanding block and able to leap two steps in a single bound.  Chaos erupts in the workshop. For hours metal panels are single handily sanded, cleaned, painted and even washed in acid.  As the dust settles, our hero uses his laser eyes (aka a big printer)  to apprehend another piece of the Art in Decay collection.

The infant of Brown County is now the Man of Steel, fulfilling his call to art.  Robert battles the never-ending need to take his photography to the next level through his print production.

Please note some details in this blog post have been fabricated. I have never seen Robert leap over two steps in a single bound.  I may have molded my story to give the appearance I am friends with Clark Kent assuming a pseudo name, when in fact I was indeed referring to my friend  Robert Coomer.  For complete information check out his work at the links below:

http://artindecay.com/
http://artindecay.com/instagram/
https://www.facebook.com/artindecay/

http://robertcoomer.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Robert.Coomer.Photography/

Completed art piece of  Robert Coomer / photo by Robert Coomer

Metal print in acid bath / photo by Robert Coomer

Distressing bolts with fire to burn off oils / photo by Robert Coomer

First Friday Photo Friend - Tom Croce

The past 15 months I have called Ohio home.   As stated I ventured out to visit different photography groups and meet people I kept hearing the same thing over and over, "You need to meet Tom Croce."    He has the awards, magazine covers, published a book, selling in art festivals and leads workshops. No wonder why everyone is talking about Tom.  I had, in fact, met this Tom Croce.   He was the first Ohio photographer to reach out to me.  Little did I know that he would become a cornerstone of my Ohio network.  I quickly learned he is everything people said about him and much more. He is unpretentious and approachable; two attributes not often found in a photographer with such fan fair.  He is kind and patient when working with other photographers and with his workshop participants. And his artistic abilities expand far beyond photography.  

Tom finds inspiration in the photographer, Clyde Butcher.  "We both started out as architects before opening a photography business" Tom would go on to explain when Clyde moved to the swamps of Florida he went out and looked for the beauty in the gator-filled waters. That motivated Tom to start looking in his backyard and has become passionate about finding the beauty right here in Ohio. "I strive to show in my pictures the beauty and value of life because I believe pictures can matter beyond their expressive ability they have the ability to affect change. I try to make pictures that are not just a record, but an artistic reminder of the reasons we want to conserve, and if my pictures can help in that efforts it gives meaning to the work", remarked Tom when asked about his work.  Living what he teaches he volunteers with local conservation groups.  Volunteering at the Arc of Appalachia, a non-profit forest and ancient Native American earthworks conservation group.  He also leads a special wildflower photography workshop during their annual Wildflower Pilgrimage.This year's workshop is sold out. If you want to do a workshop with Tom, you will need to sign up fast. 

Over this last year, Tom and I have spent countless hours talking shop, bouncing ideas off each other, discussing industry trends and who inspires us.  Unknowingly this guy played a big part in helping me move through my struggles of transitioning to a new state and culture.  Always introducing me to his circle of friends, tossing my name in the hat to do critiques and talks for the local photo clubs.  He even lets me crash his workshops, one of my favorite things to do if we happen to be working in the same area. I have jokingly said Tom is my brother from another mother but in the joke lies the truth. He is more than a good friend, more than a colleague in the nature photography industry. He is more like family.  I can never thank him enough for his friendship.  

 

 Enjoy Tom's image below that he took during his recent trip to Texas. Click on the links below and follow Tom. He is set up for a fantastic year.  Don't miss it. 

http://www.tomcrocephoto.com/

https://tomcrocephoto.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Tom.Croce.Photo/

https://www.instagram.com/tcrocephoto/

Photo by Tom Croce

First Friday Photo Friends - Dwayne Reaves

I am not only the sum of my work but the sum of those around me. With this thought, a new project starts this year. I will be featuring a photo friend on the first Friday of the month. These are the people who have touched my life and my work in some way. Collectively they have helped shape me into the person and photographer I am today. I’ll share a bit about them and their work with you. I want to encourage you to check out their work and show some love on their social media with likes, shares and comments. It's a tough world out there, let’s make it a little friendlier.

I thought Dwayne Reaves would be the perfect person for my first feature since he has been around since the early months of my trek into social media. I quickly found it was harder than I expected to make meaningful connection in the cyber world. Dwayne was not like every other photographer. He has a genuine interest in the photographer and their work. Through the past few years he would always send a note to check up on me if I had been hibernating from my social media. Several times it was the motivation I needed to get going again.

Dwayne’s passion for photography is unwavering. I have watched as life has hurled complications his way. He does not use them as an excuse to why he can’t. No, this man will find solutions and why he will. Last year we chatted about his equipment breaking. This would discourage so many. Dwyane kept shooting with the gear he had. Proving it is not the camera that makes beautiful images it’s the photographer. He would tell you, “you don't have to have an expensive camera to make a difference with photos … so many people think it is the camera when it is the person behind the camera and their attitude toward life.” Dwayne’s images are largely made within ten miles of his home in North Carolina. “Most people think you have to travel to far away places to take beautiful photographs, that is not true. There is beauty all around us.” His positive can-do outlook on life and his photography truly inspires me.

This is one of my favorite pieces of his work. He loves to photograph old homes and landscapes. If you watch his feeds you will see images of his beautiful daughter, a cherished rock in his life.

An old house Dwayne Reaves (c) photographed. 

Please take a minute to check out Dwayne’s work at the links below and show him some love.

https://www.facebook.com/dreavesphoto/
https://twitter.com/dwaynereaves
https://www.instagram.com/dwaynereaves/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwaynereaves