life by heather haynes

Stingray and I shared a relatively quiet evening in which we encountered some broken glass and a stray cat. Our interview was, I think, longer than he intended so that some who arrived home early were surprised to see Stingray in the dining room.

Let’s say that cutting people’s feet off is my new aesthetic, instead of that I’m doing it by mistake.

This is the first portrait session I’ve done since working at Picture People…the difference is unbelievable but challenge never disappears. Instead of creating endearing photographs of crying children, I’m charged with making intimate, telling images of a real life superhero without showing his face.

Thankfully Geist and I get along well and super patience is probably one of his powers. The first frame comes from a quick drop-off for a Ronald McDonald House; the other three are moments allowed to me after our audio interview.

What’s the point in beautifully lit ‘sense of place’ photos when all the ‘action’ photographs take place under cover of night? Why do I go out each twilight attempting to capture the essence of the city when the rest of my schedule takes me other places? Even if we find a contextual reason to include these photos, does having verticals really matter?

The photos I make in the moment, trying to match the mood and color of the action shots, end up like the frame below. To me the image is successful in that it feels the way Nicollet Mall felt that night. However, I anticipate my cohort gravitating toward the ‘pretty’ frames, those matching neither the aesthetic nor the tone of the story.

The moment before I got in a car with these men I very quickly rethought all of my life choices. There were so many steps along the way wherein someone could have, should have, said “No, Heather, this is a terrible idea.” Real Life Superheroes was/is a story I wanted to push as far as it could possibly be pushed, knowing I’d be stopped before, as Stingray described it, “one of the most underground experiences there is.”

And that frame of mind failed me. Drinking coffee at midnight with three RLSH felt incredibly surreal yet very real as well. Needless to say I had a bit of trouble keeping up psychologically/emotionally, let alone photographically.

I know that between snow, darkness, and my own inhibitions I failed to achieve emotion, intimacy, and moment with these photographs. But I can sure as hell place us in Minneapolis.