Buffalo

From last week when I was in Buffalo.

Copyright Scott Lessing Hubener

Laurel Of Asheville Article

Here is the cover and feature of me in the Laurel. Thanks to Jen McNally and all the others in the editorial department.

Airport Travel

Last week I travelled up to Buffalo, NY. When I went through security, my camera confused them. A TSA agent then searched through my bag. He removed my camera from the bag and after looking at it asked, ” Why is the lens so big?” Not sure how to reply, I said I didn’t know. What I really wanted to say was, ” All the better to see you with my dear.” But thinking TSA has no sense of humor, I didn’t.  Probably the person to ask that to would be the Nikon engineers. Probably has something to do with there being so many lens elements, but thats just a guess.

The taking off of the shoes has to be the funniest joke on Americans yet. Everyone else in the world must just laugh when they hear about that rule. I’m just glad that the shoe bomber chose to use a shoe and not a thong. Can you imagine if he had been the thong bomber?

Seems Like Yesterday

It seems like just yesterday she was crawling around and saying her first words. Where does the time go? Next month is kindergarten.

Stream of Consciousness

I’ve added some links to galleries to get some more resources on this blog. I’ll be adding some more links as I find more galleries, blogs etc.  Its nice for me to have these links in one place, I often forget the name of that gallery in Atlanta (Jackson) now its right there on the blog.  Also maybe more people will stop by to take a look and see what I’ve got to say.

Recently I came across the work of Michael Itkoff. What is with Joel Stenfeld? Does this guy just attract talent at Sarah Lawrence or develop it? Probably both. I mean, Alec Soth, Micheal Itkoff, Taj Forer and a bunch of others.  Good stuff for sure. Just some more stream of consciousness for you.

Bad Girl

The Detroit Cobras absolutely rock. Saw them a couple months back here with X. Fantastic show.

Light Factory Juried Exhibit

The Light Factory is displaying its first juried show.  When I was in Charlotte a few weeks ago I stopped by, but the show was still being hung.  A little bit about the show

With this competition, The Light Factory asked photographers and artists throughout the country to submit their most challenging, inventive work for an exciting exhibition. More than 200 entered (from 31 states and Canada), but only 8 were selected: Andrea Brown (Charlotte), Jeff Rich (Savannah), Michael Mulno (Tempe, AZ), Jessica Roberts (Philadelphia, PA), Willson Cummer (Fayetteville, NY), Jason Horowitz (Arlington, VA), Jason Reblando (Chicago), and Maurice Mattei (Cincinnati)

Juror: Julian Cox, Curator of Photography, High Museum of Art, Atlanta

Jeff Rich, who I wrote about a few months back, is again included with his Watershed body of work.  The juror, Julian Cox, is also a mover and shaker, holding the position of curator of photography at the High, which is no slouch. The High hosted Alec Soth’s appearance last year for ACP. When I was last there, they had a show featuring the work of Winogrand and Meiselas.

Featured Cover Artist

I recently found out that I will be the featured cover artist for the August issue of the Laurel of Asheville. It was quite an honor to be asked and I greatly appreciate the opportunity. Several of my photos will be featured along with an interview, which I might add is so well written that I come off as somewhat intelligent.

But really, the interview is quite good and it was nice to be have a platform to discuss my views, wait isn’t that what this blog is all about?  Jennifer McNally came by my office to interview me and through my ramblings was able to discern a theme and make my quotes intelligible.  She is a great writer and editor and I thank both her and the Laurel for their interest.

Equality Asheville for London Times

Last night was the first night of the Equality Asheville conference that is taking place this week to counter the Exodus International Conference taking place at nearby Ridgecrest. Exodus International supports reparative therapy, a process to essentially try to make gays and lesbians “straight”.  The London Times article should be appearing soon with hopefully a link to the online article. The speakers include Wayne Besen, pictured below. Wayne has appeared on numerous shows, radio programs and debates including The Daily Show and CNN.

Shelby and Sunset Drive-In

This past weekend we headed down to Shelby, NC to go to the Sunset Drive-In. It was the first time I had ever been to a drive-in movie. We saw Hancock, which started good and took a nose-dive towards the end.  My daughter had a blast. We ate at the famous Bridges Barbecue. Good food in a good atmosphere. If you go, be sure to get the barbecue pork sandwich, and as always, chopped.

Copyright Scott Lessing Hubener

London Calling

I got a call a couple days ago from The Times aka the London Times to shoot a story for them. I’ve been wanting the opportunity to shoot more photojournalism and The Times is about as good as it gets.  Just had to gloat a little.

Green Park Inn

Yesterday I finished the last of the haunted inn shoots. For this inn, I had to travel up to Blowing Rock. Room 318 was the center of the story. Of the three inns, this was the creepiest. The story of room 318 is also the darkest. Laurel Green, who’s portrait is located in the Inn’s Lobby is the subject. Laurel’s family settled the valley there, hence the Green Park Inn being named in their honor. Although the family never owned or was affiliated with the inn, Laurel was to be married there. The day of the wedding, she was left at the alter. Unconsolable, she ran up to her room, 318, where she stayed locked inside. Since she was refusing meals and isolating herself, the door was finally broken down. However, it was too late; Laurel had hung herself in the room.

All Photos Copyright Scott Lessing Hubener

The whole time I was in the room I felt generally creeped out. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but something didn’t feel right. There were no warm and fuzzy feelings.  I put several photos up because so much of the room conveyed the dark and somber mood.  These photos didn’t require any slow shutter speeds to illustrate the mystery, the meloncholy ambiance did that just fine. Below is also the portrait of Laurel Green herself.

Pink Lady

Last night, I went to the Grove Park Inn to photograph the Palm Court for an assignment about the Pink Lady, who haunts the inn. I decided to use a slow shutter to get some blur and a “ghostly” effect.  I arrived along with my girlfriend as the Pink Lady at around 9PM.

Well, sitting in the Palm Court, just outside their room were four or five kids, all discussing the Pink Lady. From overhearing their discussions, they were seeking the Pink Lady out. Well, there we were taking photos and Marla was wearing pink. So we definitely piqued their interest. The kids asked a few hundred questions, ” what are you doing”?, “are you looking for the Pink Lady”?, “are YOU the Pink Lady”? It was so funny. The parents were trying to get them to bed, but they just coudln’t, not with the actual Pink Lady right outside. This one girl, about five just looked at us with her draw dropped. I swear she thinks she saw the Pink Lady. So the story will continue and live on with this new sighting. It was the funniest thing.

Earlier in the evening I was in West Asheville for a leisurely dinner. The evening sky was beautiful.

Copyright Scott Lessing Hubener

Balsam

Balsam Inn is one of my stops for my recent assignment. It was a great shoot and a cool place. I love it when I get to go someplace new and experience something worthwhile. The train tracks that pass by the inn are the highest in elevation east of the Rockies. There was an old store and gas pumps, long since closed, which abandoned made an eerie entrance to the inn. As I stopped to photograph the old store, I saw this stencil art on the building next door.

Now here are some photos from the inn. And while I didn’t see the aberations, I’ll buy into the stories.  The building was rustic and charming, but behind that charm there was a palpable spookiness.  So it wasn’t difficult for me to get that feelings into the photos.

Copyright Scott Lessing Hubener

Little Critter on the Road

I came across these hapless creatures one day.  The critters and variety of them that I saw were quite assorted. Admittedly it is rather morbid subject matter. But be that as it is, it is there. These animals are spared the indignity of not only being crushed, but then repeatedly run over again and again. Well, you get the idea.

Copyright Scott Lessing Hubener

And if you are really into this stuff (you sicko) then here is a site with all the roadkill you could want.  Thank goodness for the internet, where you can find photos and topics on anything. Seems some of these animals have a nack for getting smooshed. The turtle makes another appearance and the rabbit too. Enjoy!