I have had a lot of good response for my blog Junkysays or Junky Chronicles and have been asked a few time to try and have my stuff published. I just had a 100 copies published and are selling quite well. As soon as the first edition is sold out a second edition will be made. The name of the book is Junky Chronicles and can be bought here.
http://www.softsculpture.org/
Ironically the same day my small book was published this incident happened to me and a new friend from Australia. I have not posted it to Junky Says yet but will try soon to come up with a more detailed version, possibly suited for the blog. The closest I've come to being shot.
I've been getting more and more jobs taking out of town journalists and photographers around the city of Detroit for the past few years. Some are small time and some work for the BBC and National Geographic. I always try and keep everyone safe as possible but some things you just cannot predict. I know the area and the people I'm showing the city generally want to see the underbelly of Detroit meaning abandoned buildings, the MCS building is a favorite as well as the Fisher 21 building. My personal favorite is The Grand Trunk and of course The Packard Plant. I spent a good part of the last 14 years stumbling through that hulk in the middle of the day and middle of the night. I've never had much of a problem.
Yesterday was a hot and humid day. I was taking an Aussie around the Packard so he could shoot some panorama shots which is pretty involved and time consuming with at least one tripod. I was hanging back letting Robert do his thing when I noticed he was getting ready to wrap it up for the day. I told him I would go get the truck and come pick him up while he finished packing his $20,000 worth of gear into his backpack. I retreived the truck and was pulling into the old DHS parking lot to turn around when I noticed in the blazing sun two brothers walking down the sidewalk with full winter sweatshirts on with the hoodies pulled up. I sped the truck up to pull up yo Robert and quickly and as stern as I could said "Get in the Truck NOW" Robert had remembered what I had told him when he first got here, that if I say Get in the Truck, do not ask any questions just get in the truck as fast as possible. Robert did exactly what I wanted him to do, he scooped up his backpack and raced it to the truck and it was at this point he noticed two kids running for him. Robert went back for his tripod and literally dove into the back of the truck and layed flat as he could on top of his gear just as the kid with the pistol was running up along side the truck yelling at me to "Give it up man, give it up" I didnt even look at him, I just stepped on the gas as hard as I could and peeled on down the road. Luckily no shots were fired but it could have easily been a bloody mess.
Robert thanks me for not stopping the truck and giving up all the expensive tools of his trade when the gun was pointed at us but it will always be in the back of my head, what if he started shooting? I would rather have lost my own $20,000 in cash or equipment to avoid a shooting or possible killing.
Now we still have to go back and finish some more shots at the Packard but we are going to wait a couple of weeks and try our best to shoot most of the work from the car.
We did speak with the police who were there within about five minutes of calling them but they said there was no crime committed since nothing was taken, can you believe that?
I apologize for being MIA for so long.
