Moving On
February 5th, 2010
That photo above is literally an iconic image for me. It’s been my icon or avatar image on Model Mayhem since I joined the site. I moved in to that studio in 2000 and did quite a bit of work to fix it up. When it was all painted I looked at it and said, “This room needs a ballerina.” So I found a dancer and we made this photo. That was a long time ago. I was working with a new 3 megapixel Nikon that I’d paid $1,000 for.
That has been a good studio. But the rent has continued to rise every year and it has always been just too small, especially after accumulating ten years worth of photo gear and general junk.
I’ve been looking for another studio for some time. I wanted to get out of Dayton and find something in Springfield, preferably in a location that would let me walk to the studio from my home. That was not to be.
Instead I was offered a new space in the same building complex where I’ve been for 10 years. The new space is much larger, but it will be less rent because I’ll be sharing it with my friend, GaryM. There’s plenty of room for both of us and there’s a much larger shooting area.
So I’ve spent this week moving. It was exhausting work, even with a couple great helpers, Angie and _G_. But it’s done. Yesterday I finally got the last of the debris out of the old space and turned in the keys. I filled a dumpster with stuff I decided not to move in to the new space. And this morning I slept in and let my beat-up body recover from the week of physical labor. I’m getting way too old for this kind of shit. I hope this will be my last move and that my survivors can deal with getting my stuff out of this studio after my body goes to the local medical school.
Here’s Angie in the old space after most of the stuff was removed:
And below is the new place with both _G_ and Angie decorating it. That background cyclorama is 16 feet wide. But the previous tenants tore it up, so there are holes in the curved portion blending the floor into the wall. It looks like I’ll be able to fix that with a couple sheets of masonite.
Next week I’ll try to put away all the piles of my crap that I moved in, and then get to work on fixing the cyche. There will be painting and some more minor construction to get the place up to standards. But it’s ready for shooting right now. A new decade in a new studio. I’m looking forward to seeing what I’ll be able to do with this new space. You’ll get to see the results here.
4 Responses to “Moving On”
1RandJ-Photo
February 5th, 2010 @ 5:52 pm
Nice looking space. (Well decorated too!)
Being in Florida now I miss the old warehouses and factories buildings with their wood floors and openness.
May I wish you many hours of happy, productive shooting in your new studio home.
Robert
2Bill Ballard
February 5th, 2010 @ 11:06 pm
I'm very envious. You wouldn't think it here in Savannah but finding suitable spaces to use, without breaking the law, is a real challenege.
Make that damned envious.
All the best in your new digs…
3Morgan Dooley
February 6th, 2010 @ 10:22 pm
Fun! I am sure you will have gobs of fabulous new memories in your new space whilst remembering all the wonderful moments in your old space.
4unbearable lightness
February 7th, 2010 @ 8:11 pm
Congratulations, Dave. I know it will be splendid when you're done with it!
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