March 31st 2022
So here went nothing. I talked to Bob a few days ago and got the green light to head down Kentucky way and haven’t been this excited for a project in a long time. I stopped in Columbus to visit some family splitting the drive in half, a much easier 3hrs & 3hrs as opposed to a doable but less enjoyable 6.
I have a Google Doc of some ideas, some addresses I threw into it but don’t exactly know what to expect. Hopefully I’ll meet one person at a time who leads me to another. An ever-expanding web of folks willing to help out a stranger from Pittsburgh. Not sure what to expect with the folks I meet. I’m not from Louisville, let alone Kentucky, sure Ohio’s not far, Pittsburgh not that much further but definitely different. Hopefully not seen as some parachuting carpetbagging foreigner. I anticipate some of the people I meet with kindly tell me to fuck off but for every one of those hopefully there’s a few that will at least entertain my requests to hop in their lives for a bit.
Just on the way down here today I’ve been reaching out to some random folks to explain the project and my involvement with it, and explaining I literally know no one and very little about the city so any help would be appreciated. I got plenty of responses but one that stuck with me and I have already followed up on came from a dancer…stripper…not sure the exact preferred terminology. Either way she’s a young woman who dances at strip clubs and after explaining the project to her she said she’d be willing to have me run by and take some photos. She also told me she has dual custody of her son who has autism. I thought juxtaposing her life with and without her son could be interesting and show the duality of working in the sex work/audlt industry while also being a mom – no easy task if you ask me. I got there are we talked for close to an hour while she was putting on makeup and doing her hair in preparation to drive to Lexington with another dancer who’s a friend to audition at a few clubs. We talked about most everything, she didn’t believe me when I said I’d never been to a strip club. Not a lie, not sure if I look like someone who frequents those clubs or just look like a liar but either way she didn’t believe me which I thought was funny. After getting ready she pulled out a bag with various outfits and posed for a few portraits as well as dancing on the pole she has in her bedroom.
I love some of the pictures. Really want to get more people’s two cents though. Re: male gaze, just using single images, a lot of things that I think are more complex and warrant discussion either way though a wild way to end my first day. I’m meeting with Bob for lunch tomorrow and will hopefully continue to get the lay of the land.
April 1st, 2022
Airbnb ain’t bad. Smells like smoke, stale, someone smoked in here a few trips ago, smoke, but I don’t really mind. Spent most of the morning in Shively? I think. Still haven’t really gotten the lay out of the city or my way around it down pat yet. Seems like there’s a lot to explore. I went to a hair place, women’s hair, weaves, braids and stuff, they seemed cool with me hanging out for a bit and I made a few pictures. Also went to a graveyard that was pretty small and inconsequential.
Had lunch with Bob and Ken which was great. Discussion, food was alright. My knowledge of Louisville must have expanded 1000 fold and I took notes but still feel like I missed quite a lot.
Following lunch I went to a barbershop and made a few decent photos as well as a dress shop. There were a few girls trying on prom dresses. I really want a decent wedding dress photo and that’s what I was going after here but beggars can’t be choosers or something like that.
April 2nd, 2022
Today was another eventful one. Not too much downtime which I can’t complain about when there’s such a small window of 7 days, get all you can get. I started my day getting coffee and running over to West End to meet up with Ken Brooks. He drove me all around giving me a detailed tour, I recorded a good amount of it on voice memos and will use it in the future. I didn’t photograph that much which was a little frustrating but my knowledge of the terrain again expanded probably 10 fold. On our last few miles of our journey we drove by a graffiti hot spot which I returned to and asked the guys there if they were cool with me photographing them working. Mac Miller was playing on one of their speakers when I walked up and I explained how I was from Pittsburgh and remember the vigil the day after Mac died and how it was one of the first musicians deaths that had impacted me like no other.
Not sure if I made that many good pictures, and how telling the pictures would be even if they were halfway decent, but meeting them and watching them work for a part of an afternoon was a blast. I connected with them on Instagram too so hopefully a source for the next trip.
Following that I got a call back from the wedding dress place across from my Airbnb. It looked super nice and expensive so I wasn’t sure I’d get any call back from them or anything but after popping my head in and explaining the project to the manager she called me a few hours later explaining there was a bride who was coming in with her mom to try on her dress and she’d be willing to be photographed. It was fun, quick, not sure how the pictures are. One of the few white people I’ve photographed thus far. They were super appreciative of the photos I sent them and interested in the project though which was nice.
Saturday Night!- I went to Robben’s Roost, a roller skating rink, and there had been advertised on social media this giant party. I show up an hour or so early and they’re setting up. I talk to the owner and few different workers who give their blessing but ultimately say it’s the guy who’s throwing the party who has the final say. I approach him and he wanted nothing to do with me. Would barely listen about the project, basically told me to fuck off. Even though he had hired other photographers and videographers to cover his party. I told him I’d check back in later. I return about an hour or so from the end of the party to try again and I get a throat cut sign from across the room so I take the loss and call it a night. Bummmmmer.
April 3rd, 2022
SUNDAY
I went to church today…for the first time in god knows how many years. Didn’t even burst into flames while working through the door so there still must be some hope.
I woke up early and went to St. Stephen’s who hasn’t called me back and chickened out of walking in there so went down the road to Missionary Baptist Church and was there from 9-2 I think. Made up for all the church I’d missed. I walked in and explained to the pastor, reverend, guy in charge, the project and he said he was willing so I photographed their bible study prior to the service and then the church service. It was probably 90% singing and dancing which I could get on board with. Very different from Lutheran. And the older women wearing all white seated in the front made for a few nice photos. Gave out plenty of brochures and cards so hopefully a lot of connections will come of this and they even invited me back for something they’re doing tomorrow night.
I went back to the roller rink, since whoever the guy was whose party was being thrown was not there, and photographed Sunday evening skate. I showed up around 7 and there was a much older crowd that I was told would change around 10ish, I didn’t mind though. They were moving and grooving and didn’t really pay much attention to me which was nice. The crowd did get younger as the night went on but there was this sweet spot around 10 where there was young and old, black and white, straight couples and LGTBQ folks, all having a blast and all felt right for a little, it was a beautiful sight.
April 4th, 2022
Didn’t take too many pictures in the morning, met up with Ed Hamilton an accomplished sculptor. Myself and Bob sat down in his studio which was packed to the walls with clay sculptures, life and miniature sized. I could spend all day there and not see everything. He also cut out the floor on the second floor so that light can come down to his workspace. He was an amazing person to meet and I enjoyed talking with him and bob very much.
After that we went to the offices of the KDPP and I met Ted and we went and grabbed Greek food, Bob Ted and myself. Food was good, conversation better, very fortunate to have these folks to bounce ideas off of and collaborate with. I feel like they’ve been doing this so long and know the ins and the outs and sometimes I’ll throw out an idea I think for two seconds to be good, like a renaissance fair, and then realized that’s a garbage idea and doesn’t help much with showing what life looks like. Ted gave me the book Rough Road and recommended I smoke a joint before bed and look through it. Regardless of his recommendation this most likely would have been the case anyway and I think it helped a lot with thinking about what to focus on and how to shoot.
Went back to King Solomons in the evening hoping to photograph Rev. Elliot, Legend. He left before I could be I was able to speak with the superintendent of the school system about the project, told him we’d reached out to ….immigrant school I forget the name, and he seemed very nice and spoke to how it’s an issue that the only citizens that don’t get to select where their kids go to school are folks in the West End and if a parent has a kid going to one school nearby and one that they get placed into across town how can we actually expect that parent to get both students to and from school everyday. Seemed like he was genuine in his desire to create change.
April 5th, 2022
Today was pretty great. I met up with Ken Brooks who showed me the inside of his home he and his brother own. He has a massive LEGO collection. We hopped in his car and started driving. Last time he showed me around my knowledge of the city and the history of each block and corner grew exponentially but I didn’t make that many worthwhile photos during the ride. I anticipated this to be similar but was pleasantly surprised when I met Fruit Loop, a local T-Shirt Stand owner whose father was a photographer. He showed me a collage of Black Jockeys from back in the day and I hope to return and link up with him tomorrow. He and Ken are friends and he seem equally as plugged into the happenings of the West End. Following that we stopped by Carol Ralph’s beautiful house – She goes by Penny though. Probably 5 foot nothing but lights up a room and was gracious enough to give me free rein in the house to photograph what I wanted. It was nice to be able to photograph inside someone’s home. So much can be learned about a person by what they hang on their wall, how their room looks, neat shoes laid out on the fireplace, second-floor fireplace, most likely non-functioning but beautiful Italian stone work all around. Her husband was an editor at the courier, I believe one of the first Black editors. There were newspapers framed on the wall from major events, 9/11, Iraq, so on and so forth. She let me photograph her doing needlework as well. One of the portraits she’s holding up a magnifying glass, not sure how I feel about it yet, it’s kinda weird but not sure good or bad weird. Maybe neither.
Following that I went back out and explored more around the west end, stopped by some folks’ houses, had good conversations but not much more photo-wise.
Went to Kroger to get some groceries and ran into a woman I know from spending most of Sunday and some of Monday at King Solomon’s, felt like a regular congregation member seeing someone they knew at the grocery, funny I’ve only known this town for 6 days now.
April 6th ,2022
Rainy Morning. I was hoping for some magical sunrise but apparently the weather gods want to leave something for next time. I woke up early and rode around the west end. Few people out. Got some decent photos, I think, of signage of businesses along Broadway. Muhammad Ali’s home, a few churches. Went back to the Airbnb in time to grab my things and “check out”. Following that I went over to Bob and Ted’s offices to look over some photos before heading out.
POST / Debrief
Honestly really bummed to leave. I do have a dog and girlfriend to get back to and help out but a large part of me wants to stick around and continue doing this day in and day out. Maybe it’s just the high of doing what you love for a week straight and being encouraged by those like Bob and Ted but I sincerely hope that the sentiment they shared, more or less, “this project gave us the opportunity to create some of the best work of our career” I hope that I can echo that. I think I’m on a good pace to. This week it’s not like I only took amazing pictures, didn’t miss the focus once, and convinced everyone I met to be involved, or anything like that, but it was such a good start, something that I can build off of. And left me with a hunger and feeling for more and that my contributions to this project have value. I think halfway through the week I started to feel more clued in and confident in the way I was shooting and what I wanted to shoot, even more so as the week went on, but the conversation with Bob and Ted looking over the photos I took really really helped with what to focus more on and what to focus less on. I recorded that critique which I think will be of great help looking through these photos in the future and while preparing for future trips – which hopefully there are many of. Can’t wait to get back.
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