To access the photographs, click on the orange words that are links to slideshows.
RECENT PROJECTS
On this page I present a few of the recent projects I am working on. The page is updated regularly. You can scroll down here to find, Actor Head Shots, The Veterans History Project, The Burn Magazine submission, The Racers, The Mobile Jazz Project.
Actor Head shots
Through my work contributing photographs to the Theatre in the Round, I have come to know some outstanding actors, directors and crew members in the live theater community. It's been a pleasure to photograph them in the arena for productions, but it is also a pleasure to help them by providing publicity head shots for them to obtain new roles or interest theaters in their directorial or backstage skills.
Veterans History Project...
The Veterans History Project is a part of the American Folklore Center at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. It is a repository of the oral history - in audio or video recordings - of America's military veterans. Other mementos that veterans have of their service years can also be included, so there is a rich file of veterans who take part that often includes diaries, photographs, letters to and from home, and other parts of their scrapbook for the time they served.
I took an immediate liking to the project when I read about it a year ago, and have made video documentaries of several veterans. It is absolutely fascinating to hear their stories of service. In some cases, like Don Elverd, there is heroism involved that carves feelings of respect and honor in you as you read about his bravery and the conditions of physical and emotional recovery after life-threatening wounds. In others, like Bob Weiner or Jack Zeipen, there is quiet service that reflects the experiences of most men and women in war...behind the scenes support for the soldiers, sailors and marines on the front lines that was largely the biggest reason that we won wars. There's even a record I did of David Chastain who was a member of the US Army who eventually obtained Conscientious Objector status to validate his deep personal convictions about war and violence.
Their stories are told here in clips that are snippets from the full films of their experience. You can watch their entire story by going to the Library of Congress website at http://www.loc.gov/vets/ and searching for their name. All of these will be archived on the site eventually. If you don't see a film there right away, hold on and be patient: The archive takes a while to store the record and the veteran here might not have their file stored on the site yet.
I took an immediate liking to the project when I read about it a year ago, and have made video documentaries of several veterans. It is absolutely fascinating to hear their stories of service. In some cases, like Don Elverd, there is heroism involved that carves feelings of respect and honor in you as you read about his bravery and the conditions of physical and emotional recovery after life-threatening wounds. In others, like Bob Weiner or Jack Zeipen, there is quiet service that reflects the experiences of most men and women in war...behind the scenes support for the soldiers, sailors and marines on the front lines that was largely the biggest reason that we won wars. There's even a record I did of David Chastain who was a member of the US Army who eventually obtained Conscientious Objector status to validate his deep personal convictions about war and violence.
Their stories are told here in clips that are snippets from the full films of their experience. You can watch their entire story by going to the Library of Congress website at http://www.loc.gov/vets/ and searching for their name. All of these will be archived on the site eventually. If you don't see a film there right away, hold on and be patient: The archive takes a while to store the record and the veteran here might not have their file stored on the site yet.
Burn Magazine submission...
To submit is to subject oneself to something. In this case, it is for me to be subjected to the the scrutiny of experts to my idea that someone else is interested in personal photographs taken of a trip to perhaps the most photographed city in the world. Giving in to the reluctance to do be subject to either acceptance or rejection can cause concern.
I am no National Geographic photographer, so I have not a few years to work on the project, the finest equipment in the world, or the best editors available. Instead, I had my iPhone and an idea. It was to capture simple scenes of ordinary experience in Paris and the remarkable zeitgeist (and all the irony of using that German word) of being in Normandy.
I offer this essay to Burn Magazine to honor and thank David Alan Harvey for making it possible to be subject to this review. RPW
I am no National Geographic photographer, so I have not a few years to work on the project, the finest equipment in the world, or the best editors available. Instead, I had my iPhone and an idea. It was to capture simple scenes of ordinary experience in Paris and the remarkable zeitgeist (and all the irony of using that German word) of being in Normandy.
I offer this essay to Burn Magazine to honor and thank David Alan Harvey for making it possible to be subject to this review. RPW
The Racers (in process)...
I'm enthralled with car racing. There's something about the nexus between man (and the occasional woman) and machine that is exciting. Sure, there's the speed and the danger, but that's just the surface stuff. In effect, human beings are trying to control a machine, a speeding car, in the face of a natural phenomenon, gravity. One tries to defy the effects of gravity in all forms of racing. And, this is a metaphor for all human attempts to gain control over forces that are pushing down on people every day...gravity itself, political pressures, interpersonal relationships, random violence, the inexorable road to death itself.
The racers are special people. It's both a right of passage and a rounding out of a bucket list. Some racers are quite young and just feeling their way through the adrenaline rush of being behind the wheel. Others are older who have driven tracks for decades and still get a thrill out of passing on the curve and rallying beneath the checkered flag.
There's a dirt track nearby and, even when there is no racing, there is a chance over a long winter to make photographs of the work preparing for the new season in any Springtime.
RPW
The racers are special people. It's both a right of passage and a rounding out of a bucket list. Some racers are quite young and just feeling their way through the adrenaline rush of being behind the wheel. Others are older who have driven tracks for decades and still get a thrill out of passing on the curve and rallying beneath the checkered flag.
There's a dirt track nearby and, even when there is no racing, there is a chance over a long winter to make photographs of the work preparing for the new season in any Springtime.
RPW
I've partnered up with a professional writer, Mike Ransom, to work on feature stories about life in and around the Twin Cities. Our hope is to market these stories to editors because (to tell the absolute truth), we're two old dogs that like to work on projects and see our names in print. Besides, we feel there are plenty of news and feature stories about people, places, things, and situations in the community that go unreported.