Photography is Poetry

BACKSTORY

This was such a fun calendar to create. It features all the stuffed chickens our family owns. On a trip to our local farm supply store a year and a half ago, my middle son saw a giant stuffed chicken on the shelves. It turned out to be a new product the store was offering. My son wanted it so badly he paid for it himself with money he earned, so the chicken came home with us. As the year progressed, more and more chickens, though smaller, appeared and, well, we couldn't resist. Sigh...

I wanted to make another calendar but I hadn't settled on a subject. Then, it hit me. Literally, because one of the kids tossed a chicken at me. For almost a year, we packed those chickens everywhere. We had a large blue bin that we put them in, then put the bin in the car whenever we traveled somewhere, just in case the scene lent itself to a calendar page. The one photo I really wanted but wasn't able to create, was the chickens ice fishing. We had everything ready but last winter, the weather was not cooperative. It was cold, but barely enough snow for the shot I had in mind.

The cover shot (plus two more) were created at a local private high school, where I volunteer my photography for the theatre department. The director was kind enough to let me use the stage, to create the photos. I had a framework out of sight holding the mirror ball. Fishing lines were pinned to the chickens and tied off of the frame. Then, my daughter sprayed "atmosphere" (think fog in a spray can) all over the place. When it looked right, I created the shots. I love the cover shot! The fog, the colors, the mirror ball (I love mirror balls)... Oh! And those sunglasses. Those came from a Pizza Hut (I think) promotion out of the early 90s. There were three styles but I wanted those. I remember my mom was out one day while I was at school and asked for them. Yay mom!! Who knew we would use them all these years later.

One of my favorite pages is August, with the boat. My middle son and daughter are hidden behind the boat, in the water, pulling the fishing lines to give the appearance of hooked fish. I handmade all the life vests from foam. My daughter and I tied on the nylon strapping one evening.

Take special note of all the hidden details in the forest, shown in the January page. I made all of those trees using foam insulation panels. They were pinned with fishing line that ran to the ceiling. Some of them are missing branches because of how fragile they turned out to be. :) I like the look though.

I hope you enjoy the calendar and the story behind it. Traveling in a car full of camera, lighting equipment, and a bin full of stuffed chickens was definitely a new experience. The looks we got unloading at a local lake one day were priceless.

And that as they say, is how the calendar was... hatched!

Please contact me directly at robpleasphoto@earthlink.net for ordering information.