Law of Attraction

Well, this weekend was full of the law of attraction when it came to cars. Not only did Amanda lend me her car for the entire weekend because she was taking the train to Toronto, but Tokio Webster and Sandra C, both fourth year undergrads at the U of W agreed to take me out. So that being said, I spent my entire weekend out shooting photographs.

I dropped Amanda & Lydia off at the train

station for 5:30pm on Friday Mach 11^th, and immediately afterwards, I headed and grabbed my camera because of the rich blue colour of the sky. The day before, Amanda and myself had been out running errands, and she had wanted to take a picture of the Ambassador Bridge for a new piece she is working on. We found this little park with the perfect view, and while she was taking some source images, and I swung on a swing, I decided I would come back to photograph this location. The bridge is the busiest international border crossing in North America in terms of trade, so figured it would make an good addition to my panos, I just didn’t think I would be coming back the next day!

On Saturday, I was up early and Tokio picked me up from my place. As she grew up in Toronto, and only got her license within the last 5 years after moving to Windsor after coming to the conclusion that it is an impossible city to live in without a car, she decided to take me on some of the routes that she drives by regularly since getting her license. We started by heading NE through the city, and our first stop was the Ford Power House. Owned and operate by Ford Canada, it provides power to its Engine and Casting plants. After doing a loop around we found a parking spot and walked to the best spot to shoot a pano.

We didn’t drive far from here until we reached the Ford Test Track, which is a 59-acre park that is used as a major venue for local sports activities. It was the original test track facility for Ford Motor Company of Canada, but in 1979 Ford agreed to lease the track to the City of Windsor as a park. Tokio had never been to the park before, so we got out and walked around trying to find the best vantage point for me to shoot a pano. While walking around we had a good chance to talk, and I was really surprise to find out how similar our past histories have been. On the surface it’s been obvious, same age, both in long term relationships, but had it not been for this project forcing me to spend more intimate time with people, and creating conversations I normally wouldn’t have outside of the Lebel building, we never would have realized how similar certain aspects of our past have been.

After shooting a pano, we continued on, but the weather was getting ugly, and we both had other places to be. Before I even knew it, we were back near my place driving by Malden Park, which is 175-acre park, featuring the highest hill in Essex County. I had no idea that this was so close to my place, and since the hill has the perfect view of BP Canada Energy Company - pipeline contractor, I knew I would be back. I still needed to take a portrait of Tokio’s car, so we stopped by Lebel, and then she dropped me off at home.

After a quick lunch, I packed up and walked back to Lebel to meet Sandra. She is a first generation Canadian, and both of her parents immigrated to Canada at a young age from Italy. Most of her family worked for the auto industry throughout the years, so the first place she took me was to some residential areas where her family lives. One of the images I shot in these locations turned out really well, and the lack of sidewalks in the image makes it even more appealing to me. The no sidewalks in many residential areas are still a strange faucet of Windsor that I am still not used to and one that I have been pondering on how to document. She then took me to a few locations along Huron Church Rd where they are expanding the 401 highway for easier access to the Ambassador Bridge. I took a couple of panos here, one of an old gas station that has been shut down, and a row of houses that has been boarded up.

Since most of her family worked for Chrysler, and I had not seen the plant yet, she took me on a loop. This is the plant where the first minivan rolled out of the factory in 1983. They do tours here, and I must get access, if not for the photos, then for the history lesson. From here we wrapped it up, but before she dropped me off, we stopped at the riverbank for the car portrait.

I had big plans for Sunday. It was suppose to be sunny, so I was going to out and shoot all day. But when I woke up it was cloudy, and since I went out the night before, and woke up a bit hung-over, decided to postpone for a bit. After going out for brunch and getting groceries, I decided to go back to Malden Park for the afternoon. Although I have really been enjoying the social aspect of this project, while at Malden park, I remembered how much walking really helps clear my mind. I didn’t feel rushed, just meandered around, picking at things, talking to the geese, taking photos, and then just went and sat in the car for an hour afterwards thinking. As I am a person who is greedy for experiences, I would never choose one experience over the other, but I couldn’t help remembering how comfortable I feel just sitting in the driver’s seat of a car.

Last Thursday

Last Thursday, March 3rd, I headed out on another adventure. This time Michael Marcon took me out, an undergraduate in the 4th year of his BFA. An aspect of this project that is starting to emerge that I hadn’t previously thought of, is how different every outing is, not only because of where each individual takes me, but also because of each individual’s personality. While some people are more into taking the time to explore with me, others have specific spots in mind and see the process as directly from A to B – and then there are all those who exist in-between.

Mike, although not a photographer, would have what I call a “photographer brain.” When I say this, I mean a personality that blends being both an artist and a technician together. So, while having an eye for aesthetics, people like this, myself included, tend to pre-plan the majority of their lives in detail. In this regard, I would have to say that out of everyone I have gone out with so far, Mike is most similar to myself in this aspect. He knew roughly where he wanted to take me and had a timeline in which to do so. I was all right with this though, as I had things to do later that day, like clean my apartment to show potential sublets.

Since no one had taken me West of the city yet, he knew of a few places out that way, so we headed out into the county. LaSalle is the first suburb West of Windsor, and our first stop was at the Canadiana & Auto Museum of Essex County. Before photographing the premises, we went in to ask permission. The inside was full of old antique car parts and random odds and ends, and although they wouldn’t let me shoot the interior due to the possibility of thieves, they were fine with me photographing the exterior. The best angle I could find included a number of old antique cars behind a fence.

We began heading out of LaSalle, and we passed by Marty’s Full Serve Gas Bar, but the sun was hitting it at a strange angle, so I asked if we could stop here on the way back, and Mike agreed. From here we just kept heading West. We eventually turned onto Front Rd. N and just continued following this road along the riverfront. We stopped in the beautiful small community of Amherstburg, a town I would retire in if I was from the area, and then kept driving west until we hit Lake Erie. It was starting to get late into the day, so we began to head back towards Windsor. Along this entire way, I don’t even remember if we talked. It was just nice to be out for a drive.

I’ve been recently been reading Wanderlust - A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit, and as someone who has both walked hundreds of kilometers and driven thousands more, I see the two being interrelated. As Solnit states, “walking, ideally, is a state in which the mind, the body, and the world are aligned, as though they were three characters finally in conversation together, three notes suddenly making a chord… The rhythm of walking generates a kind of rhythm of thinking, and the passage through a series of thoughts. This creates an odd consonance between internal and external passage, one that suggests that the mind is also a landscape of sorts and that walking is one way to traverse it.” Although Solnit is referencing walking in this passage, I occasionally am in this same frame of mind while on a road trip, and Thursday was one of those days.

Solnit, Rebecca. Wanderlust: a History of Walking. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Penguin, 2001. 5-6. Print.

It must have also been a similar day for Mike, because on our way back, just before reaching Marty’s Full Serve Gas Bar we were pulled over for going 77 in a 50 zone. Although for most of the trip in the county we barely talked and just watched the landscape pass us by, we had started up a conversation about nothing in particular, and neither of us noticed the change in speed. Unlike myself in similar situations, Mike was pretty calm about the whole thing and after being given the ticket, we continued on our way. Literally two seconds later, we reached Marty’s. I took a few panos here and also the portrait of Mike’s car.

I know it’s taken me quite a few days to get this post up, but I’ve had a few busy days since Thursday. Asides from writing an essay, I’ve been in the process of trying to sublet my apartment for the summer months. But, I have had success! There is a couple who have said they will take it, so fingers crossed that they don’t back out on me!

Another Day Out

So, I was really hoping to use reading week more to my advantage by going out on excursions and shooting some photos instead of actually reading, but unfortunately, the weather threw a wrench into my plans. On Sunday afternoon, a storm started to blow through the area, and on Monday, the city of Windsor woke up to 30 centimeters of snow. As this is not normal for the area, and it was family day, I decided it would be best to postpone shooting for the day. Driving would be terrible, none of the lots would be plowed to park in, and really, I didn’t feel like walking around because no one shovels there side walks here until a day or two after a snow fall… if ever.

But on Tuesday, Natalie Sinn, an undergrad in her final year of completing a Honours Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Visual Arts, and myself decided to venture out to see what we could find. Our first stop was out by the Windsor airport at a place called B.O.S. Auto Parts, which is an automotive recycler. The lot looked to have a lot of really interesting old car parts, so I asked the owner if I could take some photographs. I found it quite humorous when he stated “Ohhhh… you don’t want to be out there today it’s to cold to be shooting photographs!” (It was -8 -16 with the wind…) “And the snow in the yard is up to here!” (As he pointed mid thigh, an obvious exaggeration) I just chuckled to myself, and said I was from Saskatchewan, but he didn’t understand the reference, and was adamant that I come back when the snow was gone. But, I’ll take what I can get, as they usually don’t allow people in to the car yard, so when the weather gets better, I’ll be back.

A few shops down the road we stopped at ABC Auto Parts. When we first walked in, I really

liked the place. It had all kinds of old and interesting memorabilia of the area hanging all over the walls. There was even an oversized amour of a knight in one corner of the office. In the garage part there were shelves and shelves of old motors and fans and auto parts lined up on one side of the wall. The first guy I asked about taking some photographs said I would need to wait for the owner who was next door eating lunch, so we had a quick look around the outside of the building. But, I found the inside to be much more photographically interesting. We went back in, and waited and waited, and then finally, Jim, the owner showed up wiping food from his face. My first impression was not good. I explained my process, and when I was finished, he asked if we were spies. Really… spies! I think this guy has some serious paranoia issues. I told him that no, I’m a student, and here’s my business card so you can see what my work is about. He looked at it briefly, and rudely said it was too nice for him to keep, and handed it back. He then proceeded to give me one of his cards, which he stated that because they weren’t as nice as mine, he could afford to hand them out. He wrote down his name, and said “there’s only one person to talk to about getting access to my lots.” To what I replied, “you?” And he said, “Yeah, come back when the weather is better…” Honestly, I am torn. This guy was such an ass, and I’m assuming that this also had something to do with the fact that we were two women, that I’m not sure that I will go back. It’s something to keep in mind though. He did seem to warm up to the idea a little bit at the end, and he mentioned something about a large lot of old cars in McGregor that is his. I’m not quite sure where that is, but if I need to, I’ll figure it out.

After we left ABC, we stopped for lunch at The Whistling Kettle, in the township of Tecumseh. Natalie worked here years ago, and like she said, the food was amazing! Mmmmm I just had ½ a gyro and sweet potatoes fries as leftovers for lunch! We then ended up in the small town of Elmstead. I still find it strange how towns in the area seem to be connected. I still thought we were in Windsor until I looked at a map. Here, we stopped at AP Plasman, a company that specializes in painted plastic for automobile exteriors. Although we weren’t allowed access, I did get the contact information for Richard (who Natalie couldn’t stop talking about how much she loved his Liverpool accent) and he said to get in contact through email, with the possibility of doing a tour. (And if Richard is giving it, Natalie wants to come along so she can listen to him talk) Which reminds me… send that email! While in the area we stopped at Integram Windsor Seating, a company that specializes in manufacturing and assembling the front and rear seating for minivans. Unfortunately no one was in the office, but I did get a contact number to call to see if I could get access. Another reminder… make that phone call!

From here we decided to tour around the rich area of Essex County, as this was where Natalie

wanted to get the portrait of here car taken. At this point her car was splattered with slush, and she was adamant about the dirtiest part of her car being displayed in front of the nicest possible house we could find. The nicest we found were on Elmgrove Drive, and one that we stopped at is perhaps Steve Yzerman’s summer cottage. It’s important to note, that all the houses face Lake St. Clair, so we were only seeing the back of the houses, which are not as nice as the fronts.

It was starting to get to be later on in the day, and Natalie wanted to take me to the Chathem-Kent Museum, which is located approximately 80KM from Windsor. She had never been there

before, but from all of the press it gets on it’s displays of the a

uto industry, figured it would be interesting. We were both sadly disappointed. There was 1 old car, and a few horse drawn carts. I think the most interesting thing I saw in the museum was part of the jaw of a Mastodon that had been found in the area. But regardless, we got there ½ hour before closing, so I quickly set up and took a few photographs. Although in no way do I see this fitting into my final body of work, I was partly experimenting to see how they would turn out, and this way I can also show that I have been playing around with lots of subject matter, which seems to make people happy.

As the sun was setting, Natalie took off to take a few of her own photographs in a park within Chathem… and then we drove off into the sunset back to Windsor. Although no solid panoramic resulted, I feel like I got a lot of really great leads that could result in so

me amazing photographs.

I also had another studio visit today with Julie Sando, and the concept of performance came up again. How this process of getting people to take me out has a performative aspect to it. In a way, I see these formal/informal p

ortraits of other people’s cars a way of inserting a personal aspect into my work.