This one comes from the fall of 1979 when I was working for The Pike Press, my hometown paper in Pittsfield, IL The weekly publication had a solid, good reputation in serving Pike County and the region.
My connection to the paper ran deep. My Aunt Betty Kriegshauser (dad’s sister) once worked there and had some stock in the ownership. It was time spent with her that accelerated my interest in photography. Watching prints “magically” come to life in the developer tray of the darkroom was cool. The whole process was. Before mom would let me buy my first SLR camera, I was loaned an old Rolleiflex from the paper, to use just to make sure my interest wasn’t a passing fancy.
Al Seiler was, and had been, the editor and publisher for as long as I remembered. Aunt Betty worked for and with him. There was a cast of people who had been there a long time. A true team, taking pride in the content and product.
I’d bombed out of SIU Carbondale that past spring. Even flunking a history of photography class due to lack of interest because the professor was an insufferable, egotistical asshole. SIU wasn’t all for naught, however. I’d also been a staff photographer for The Daily Egyptian, the student paper, and I learned a lot from working with a group of guys who were a lot better than I was at that point. One of their tips was… Get rid of Minolta stuff and go with Canon or Nikon.
I decided to take a break from college, get my act together, hang around home, and find work of some type. The Pike Press found room for me, now equipped with a Nikon FM body and three lenses. A 24mm 2.8, a 35mm 2.0, and a 105mm 2.5.
This photo… I was dispatched to make a promotional photo for a Jaycee’s haunted house that would operate around Halloween season. I think it was out on West Perry Street. A rundown structure that had not been occupied for awhile. No one told me how to compose or what to do. I didn’t know what I’d have to work with until I got there.
I probably tried a few things. I was not very good at staging or directing, “setting it up” as we’d say in photojournalism speak. Later, when I worked for The Daily Herald, staging a photo was referred to as “monkifcation” or “monkifying” because we were told by a gruff newsroom editor, “Trained monkeys could do what you do.”
After a little time and exchange of ideas, I thought of using the 24mm. With the Minolta gear, the widest lens was a 50mm, and that’s not wide at all. The Daily Egyptian guys told me a 24mm was a must have. They were right. That lens opened up a whole new world for me. It forces you to work close, and it really accents the foreground from the background. It separates, especially at a shallow depth of field. When used close enough to the subject, it also can distort. PERFECT to make ghoulish figures look more ghoulish. We arranged some guys on the roof and brought two of the guys in the best costumes to the forefront.
And there you have it. Mr. Seiler and the staff loved it. A year or so later, I remember showing it to either Scott Dine or Larry Williams, at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, during an informal interview and portfolio critique. The photo drew praise.
P.S. I’d forgotten to look to see if there was a caption on the back of the print. There is. It was indeed West Perry Street, not a bad memory after 46 years. I don’t know who all was present that day, but I’m 99.9% certain the one on the roof, in blue jeans, is Rick Miller.
Pittsfield Jaycees haunted house. 1979. I was working for The Pike Press.