The last time I was on a plane, I was flying back from visiting my friend @roadscape. Early March, and COVID was still barely penetrating the news. A few weeks later, that would change. I’m currently 36,000 feet above Utah, flying back to Minneapolis. I still hate flying. It’s quite possibly my only straight up fear. I used to do this shit every six weeks, and I think the time off has made me even more fearful. Flying during a pandemic is weird, for those who haven’t done it. Having an entire row to myself isn’t bad, but looking around and seeing a near empty plane may be the most Orwellian thing I’ve experienced since the pandemic was declared.
Man, can I not wait to get home. I left for this trip on November 8th. The purpose of it was to make good on commitments and bookings I’d taken just before COVID, and subsequently our governments, forced us all in to a global quarantine. I didn’t put up much of a fight because, honestly, I needed an intervention in my life and career. Traveling and shooting at the rate I had been for over a decade was breaking my spirit. I was booked for a wedding that was suppose to be in May. It was cancelled or postponed twice, and the date my clients finally landed on was November 14th; ironically, the worst of all prospective dates as far as cases.
The wedding would be held in Los Angeles, outside, with only 25 guests, all tested for COVID prior to the event. A twist in my planning was that I also had a client that had booked a shoot in April, good friends with my friends Ryan Ashley and Arlo DiChristina in Grand Junction, CO. Ryan and Arlo just had a baby, and my son has called her Auntie Ryan since he was a baby. I guess that makes me Uncle Lars, and I began considering driving from Minnesota to LA, stopping in Grand Junction to make good on my shoot commitment, seeing my friends and meeting baby Atheus. I found a $300 rental car and that was that. I set up dates and embarked on this journey.
As I type this, I’m flying over I-70 through Colorado, and this stretch of highway almost claimed my life. I’m not at all being dramatic. Minnesota to Denver was 13 hours in one day, but uneventful. Denver to Grand Junction the next day, I got caught in a snow squall. Traffic came to a stand still and eventually, police pushed me and a few dozen other cars up an off ramp. I was stuck in the snow, which was an unfamiliar feeling as my car at home is a Subaru with all wheel drive. I did a Google search on my Infiniti Q50 and found out that, in fact, it was rear wheel drive. Rear wheel drive, snow and Colorado mountains are an awful, awful combination.
A couple of truck drivers helped push me out and I sat for hours waiting for a plow truck to clear a service road that connected my exit back to I-70. An officer suggested that I get towed to a hotel because, apparently, Colorado law states that if you slide or block the interstate, its a $500 fine. I took my chances and followed the plow, just barely making it up a hill to a tunnel. White knuckling it behind a tractor trailer going 5mph, then seeing a flashing sign just before we left the mountain that read, “STEEP INCLINE AHEAD! 12º DOWNHILL GRADE!”. Just an awful knot in my stomach as I went from panic to survival mode.
My instincts proved to be worthy, and even though it was a terrifying few hours slipping up icy mountains, then crawling down them on the other side, I eventually emerged from the snowfall. The weather cleared and the last three hours did eventually deliver me to Grand Junction. I arrived six hours later than I anticipated, but I was grateful for to be safe. I was able to collapse in to the bed at Ryan’s guest house, and the following morning, shoot with Raquel, the client who prepaid her deposit in the Spring. Ryan and Arlo took me to see the National Monument and we all shared a four hour dinner at an incredible restaraunt called Bin.
The next morning, I was back on the road. Eight hours to Las Vegas. Looking back, I can’t believe I pulled this off but after arriving, I met with tattooer and burlesque legend, Cervena Fox. Cervena and I have been trying to shoot together for years. We were always in the same cities at different times. Finally, on short notice, we both realized we’d be in Vegas on November 12th. We met at The Artisan Hotel; one of my favorite shoot locations. It was exactly what I hoped it would be. Cervena is a bombshell and turns it on in front of the camera like few can. We shot for two hours. I can’t wait to get home and set up to review this shoot.
I also found time the next day to shoot with my homegirl, @vintagevandalizm. Jasmin is one of my best friends and we’ve been shooting together since 2014. She is an anomaly in the rockabilly scene because she can do much more than vintage looks. Her versatility is her greatest asset, not just in her modeling but as a designer. Last year she launched her own brand and she’s been killing it ever since. I got to see her new place, her design studio, her inventory. We made our way to Nelson’s Landing; this cool ghost town outside of Vegas. We shot for a few hours and I even had a chance to capture her with my DJI Mavic Air 2 drone.
Early the following morning, it was straight to LA. I arrived, knocked out a quick shoot and checked in at the estate of Clark Gable. It’s a long story but I became friends with the owners years ago. The next day was the wedding. These are daunting for someone that doesn’t fancy himself a wedding photographer. The clients have became friends over the last year, and I relaxed as the morning gave way to the evening. I grew more confident in the photos I was taking, and the overall mood was relatively calm thanks to the management of the two wedding coordinators. Hanae and Ben looked great. The ceremony was beautiful. Easy peasy.
The last two shoots of the trip were with my friend Cindy and Renee Olstead. Cindy had a baby in September and I offered to take some family photos with her, her husband and their new baby, Melina. I also wanted to do boudoir photos of Cindy with the changes that’ve happened with this new chapter in her life. Renee is about to have a big launch on OnlyFans. She’s also embarking on a new journey of clinical psychology and sexual exploration. Quite an honor to shoot with both of these beautiful ladies and they both crushed it. I was feeling particularly “on” for these final shoots and at the end of the evening, I was left with a bit of an art high.
That is the summary of the last 10 days. It’s been a whirlwind. What’s the lesson from this trip? Well, I’m endlessly grateful for my role at @eos.detroit. The constant traveling for ten years was enough to almost make me give up photography. I know it sounds romantic when reading about these tours, but I assure you, it isn’t. They test your endurance, mentally, physically and creatively. I was grateful for the intervention that came with the quarantine, and the chance to travel across the country and see friends, but it was a reminder that at 40 years old, I’m now more suited to be at home, grinding away on comics, writing and NFT’s in the comfort of my studio or bedroom.
I’ll be on the snow covered Minnesota ground in 90 minutes. Just before the trip, at the exact same time as the laborious election results, I had a COVID scare myself. It threw this entire trip in to peril, in addition to the implications for my heath and our beloved coffee shop, @caffetto. I tested negative just two days before leaving, and if I’m home safe without symptoms, I’m happy to spend time at home with my family. I miss riding my electric unicycle [...I hope I still remember how]. I’ve been working on the @eos.detroit Proxy Prospectus and we should be making a wide release of that publication by the end of the week. Thanks for reading and have a great night.