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The Heist

I had to take some photos to send in for an upcoming interview in Memory Makers magazine. I was crammed for time last week so I called up my little brother and found a time when we could both pull it off. Grandiose plans fell by the wayside as I rushed to get something taken and we decided to go with the contrast angle that people seem to be picking up on by just shooting some pics in a scrapbook store. The first store I called had a big name coming in for a weekend crop and were unavailable for a peon like me to snap a few shots, the second choice, a place down the street from where I live was no longer in business so I ended up calling a place called "Artsy Tartsy" a few miles away.

I called around 6:30 pm and briefly explained who I was, was making a documentary about scrapbooking and had an interview I needed pictures for... could I come and spend a few minutes in the store snapping shots before they close. What time did they close? 8:00pm . ok. I'll be right in.

I arrive maybe 15 minutes before they close and talked to Julia, the owner and manager. She was a real sport and ended up joining in on the pictures. She seemed a little apprehensive so I explained more about the project and the story angle I was coming from inbetween flashes. I was doing my best to juggle trying to make an interesting picture, feeling a little uncomfortable in the environment, feeling intrusive to this woman who is letting me in her shop and trying to pitch her the idea that it's a good program and worth her letting me into her store on a moments notice.

I started dropping names of some people who were already on board and she would resond with things like, "you know too much about so and so to not be legit." So I started feeling a bit more at ease knowing that she could be starting to respect me as a film maker.

The next day I was looking over the pictures and it was dawning on me that her version of legit wasn't my artistic integrity, plot structure or character arc... it was whether I was going to rob her blind or not. It never dawned on me that someone she's never heard of ( in particular a male ) calling up to shoot pictures for a magazine at the last minute on a weeknight might sound fishy, then to have a hooligan looking bozo like me show up fifteen minutes before closing and say he was doing a documentary.. well. Anyone in the scrapbook world would be understandably squeemish.

So hat's off to Julia at Artsy Tartsy! She's one of the gutsiest chicks I know!

posted by wes @ 8:23 AM