It's about Love.
It's about Community.
It's about Healing.
The heart-lifting effort to collect 10,000 photographs of the affectionately-inclined from around the world.
The Minnesota Smooch! shoots have now ended. It’s time to both look to the future as well as the past. In addition to preparing to get the project ‘out of town’ in 2010, I am busy working my way through all the historical images collected for the project over the last four years. The goal is to prepare all archive images for upload to the website. What a trip down memory lane! The photo here, called Chris luvs Captain Howdy, is drawn from the very first public Smooch! shoot, held in the community room of the downtown Saint Paul apartment building I was living in at the time. The date was April 29, 2006. I had put up a few posters in the building’s mail room. I had no idea if anyone would show up. I was surprised. Not only did 17 people walk in to have their photos taken, among them were six dogs and even a cat.
Captain Howdy seemed, at most, tolerant of Chris. But only just so. Turns out that Chris had borrowed the dog from a friend in the building, just so he could have something to smooch and participate in the shoot. If my memory is correct, Chris was an aspiring model and any photos he could get of himself were useful for his budding career. I asked him if we could take the harness off the dog but he declined. If we did, he said, he wouldn’t have anything to hold on to and the dog would run away. Here, Captain Howdy looks longingly at the door while Chris tries in vain to plant one on his cheek. There was a small group of onlookers in the room as I was taking this photo. The camera flashed. The image captured. We all laughed. Captain Howdy was finally free to go, much to his great relief. Even at its very beginning, The Smooch! Project brought humor and smiles to participants and viewers alike, as long as you don’t count Captain Howdy.
It is very hard to sort through the historical photos for several reasons. For one thing, I didn’t know what I was doing. Digital photography was a new art form for me. My equipment was substandard, especially when compared with what I am currently using. I offered very little art direction to participants, since I was exploring and I did not yet know what I was looking for. Happy accidents, like Chris luvs Captain Howdy, kept me at it. They provided encouragement. They showed me what worked and what didn’t. Since then, I have learned much. My success rate at capturing quality photos suitable for The Smooch! Project Archive has increased to nearly 100 percent. Images like this one helped me shape the project into what it is today. Even so, it is difficult to look at these historical photos without the critical eye they helped me gain. It can be painful! Artists often destroy their early work, as it does not reflect their current standards. I struggle with the urge to delete as well. My wise friends counsel patience, forgiveness, and tolerance. Good advice I plan to heed through the editing process.
. . . which are too numerous to mention in detail. I’ll list of few of the irons we’ve got in the fire:
- I am continuing my effort to interest Ellen Degeneres in The Smooch! Project. Slow going but perseverance may pay off!
- I will begin offering public presentations about The Smooch! Project very soon. If you have suggestions on possible speaking opps, I would welcome hearing from you.
- I am setting up an internship program for students with Photoshop skills to bring archive to its highest level of quality. Let your photo student friends know about this opp to help polish a collection of images destined to become a historical legacy.
- We are building a budget and seeking business partnerships interested in supporting the effort to reach the goal: 10,000 photographs from around the U.S., and perhaps from other parts of the world as well.
Exciting days ahead. Stay tuned!
I continue to donate because your project makes people smile.
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