"Hot Rod" Heidi Sawdon

I received an assignment a while back to photograph a group of Pin-up girls who were raising money for troops over the holidays. Now, the lions share of my assignments fall within the boundaries of Snohomish County, but this particular shoot was to be shot in the Queen Anne apartment of one of the Pin-up girls. The women were going to be preparing themselves for a studio shoot of their new calendar, and I was to meet with them before in order to make some documentary images.

I was particularly jazzed about the assignment, and on my way to Seattle I was hoping to talk my way into following the girls all the way through the studio shoot itself. I arrived at the apartment and was let in by one of the girls’ husbands. The building is very old, but the tenants still use the antique elevator complete with brass spring gates that you have to open and close (You have no idea how amazing this was for me! I have been a fan of nearly anything antique all my life). I entered the apartment, and over the course of an hour, made about a half dozen images that I really liked. The girls were a blast. They ignored me the entire time, which is exactly what a photojournalist dreams about. During the course of the shoot I found out that there just wasn’t enough room for me to tag along for the studio shoot. I was a bit bummed, but I had a great time.

On the way out, as I was trying to pack up my gear and collapse my light stand I realized we were all going to pack into the elevator for the ride down! I walked into the elevator with my flash still attached to my light stand and all of my gear dangling around my neck and kept shooting the whole way. The result is one of my favorite images of 2007. The detached arm of one of the girls’ husbands, the brass gate, “Hot Rod” Heidi Sawdon, and a perfect “David Lynch” vignette from my flash that was still hovering a few feet above my head on light stand (that I was about to drop). Oh! I almost forgot the sailor’s hat…too good to be true.