Just another day at the office...
It's the middle of the morning, in the middle of the week, in the middle of winter. Today my office is the Asbury Park Beach and the assignment is to shoot archival Broll for the current documentary Feature I'm working on. (The Asbury Park Experiment/2017)
I am the first person in. There is a large, wavy, white blanket of snow that gently lays upon virtually everything in sight. Save the wind and sea, my camera and I have the entire expanse to ourselves. Curiously we march into the expanse looking for signs of summers past and the promise of spring to come. We walk, watch, and set up. Walk, watch, and set up. Over and over, my camera and I walk, watch, and set up...
Cameras don't talk much. Not in the literal sense. However, in this relationship, I come up with questions and look for the answers in the viewfinder. That's how we communicate. And when the conversation gets good the results are always brilliant images and powerful stories. And so I ask, "Who has something to say?" Thus begins our conversation.
I'm not sure how long we have been out, but the sun has moved half way across the sky. The shadows are no longer where they were when we started. I think of my beloved son, Westli. I snap a self portrait with him in mind. I want him to know that I was an adventurer of sorts. I hope he will be one too.
By now my fingers, toes, and nose are completely numb. I guess that's a wrap for the day. I look back across my office. There is a long trail of footprints carved in the snow. Tripod imprints represent the various debates between the camera and me. We talked about giving the vacant boardwalk presence... and making the old shell of the naked casino look wise and dignified. Our film is about the positive effects of rock-n-roll on a 'powder keg' community. We photographed a few artifacts and relics that spoke to this beneath the snow. The only thing we could not resolve was how to capture the sweet smell of frozen salt air. I guess we will leave that for the writers...
