March 23, 2009
An Open Letter to Swiss Avenue Homeowners
Please, allow me to introduce myself:
My name is Lawrence Standifer Stevens. I came to live on Swiss Avenue in the last few days of December, 2007, shortly after successful surgery for throat cancer. My choice of the carriage house at 4812 Swiss Avenue came about by a combination of timing and luck. I quickly realized it was the perfect spot for me to heal — physically and psychically — while I prepared for the next of life's great adventures.
A couple of months ago, after receiving a clean bill of health from the good doctors at Parkland Hospital, I decided to embark on a rather ambitious — but very personal — project. My plan is to shoot all the homes and businesses on Swiss Avenue between La Vista and I-45, and (with their permission) the homeowners and others who use this marvelous street as a way to de-stress their busy days, bring beauty into their lives, and soak up some of the history this community has to offer.
This is a photographic documentary project. . . but with a heavy bias toward creating photographs that are pleasing to look at. In the main, this is about "home," that idealized concept most of us have of "the place when you go there, they have to take you in," as the poet, Robert Frost, once wrote.
What it is not is an Architectural Digest project. Not even close. Not that there's anything wrong with that; this just isn't it. But neither is it a gritty, hard-edged look at the "seamy side of life." This is a look at the homes, businesses, and people of Swiss Avenue through the eyes of someone who loves this neighborhood.
The Swiss Avenue Project
The project will have several aspects to it:
1) A Monograph — This is a book of large prints to be chosen from all the photographs I make, and it will be custom-bound and presented to the City of Dallas for inclusion in the City Archives as an historical record.
2) I want to present the Monograph at a city council meeting or other appropriate venue just prior to the annual Swiss Avenue Tour of Homes on Mother's Day.
3) I will create at least two books and make samples available to the homeowners associations for the purpose of fundraising, with the profits being divided equally between myself and the HOAs.
4) I have begun designing this website and will continue to update it with the images I make. You can see some sample images from the project here, and the site will eventually include text (80 – 100 words each) on the history, homeowners and other people I meet during shooting, activities, and so on, on the street, as well as photos of each of those subjects.
5) I'll produce a video of the photos and will make these available.
6) I will also promote the project with the media. I believe it has all the elements that make a good news or feature story, particularly for TV and print media.
There are probably other ways to aggregate the photos that I've not yet imagined so that a wide audience can see them and appreciate them. For the record, I'm more than happy to entertain suggestions.
Why am I engaging in such an ambitious undertaking? More than likely, it's not to make money. Quite probably, it will cost more than I make from the project.
Simply put: I'm doing this for a couple of reasons — recognition and gratitude.
After 35 years of shooting (mostly for my own pleasure and a little commercially) I've decided to take this talent of mine that has remained buried for far too long, dig it up, dust it off, and show it to the world. Also, this is a way for me to show my gratitude to the City of Dallas and Parkland Hospital for helping me when things looked pretty bleak.
So. . . that's my story. . . and that's what I plan to do. Why am I telling you all this? Because I want your "blessing," if you will, for the project. . . and your participation. You may have already seen me walking up and down Swiss Avenue, stopping to shoot homes as I walked.
First, I want you to know what I'm doing so it doesn't appear inappropriate or alarm anyone. Second, I would like your permission to shoot some detail shots that I could only achieve close up. That means, of course, stepping closer than my normal sidewalk point-of-view. This is the type of shot that gives texture to the context that my panoramic photos provide.
Should you see me on the sidewalk in the morning or afternoon, I hope you'll take the time to stop and strike up a conversation. I'd love to get to know you, the home you live in, and some of its history.
If, for some reason, you prefer not to have your home included in the project, I will respect your wishes, reluctantly. On the other hand, if you'd like to invite me in for a cup of coffee and a photographic tour of your home, I probably won't turn you down. I'm open to both possibilities.
For those brave souls who have trudged all the way to the end of this overlong essay, I offer you my congratulations and my thanks. I look forward to meeting you and photographing your homes from the sidewalks of Swiss Avenue.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Standifer Stevens
4812 Swiss Avenue
214.650.7924
lsstevens@pentagrafx.com
An Open Letter to Swiss Avenue Homeowners
Please, allow me to introduce myself:
My name is Lawrence Standifer Stevens. I came to live on Swiss Avenue in the last few days of December, 2007, shortly after successful surgery for throat cancer. My choice of the carriage house at 4812 Swiss Avenue came about by a combination of timing and luck. I quickly realized it was the perfect spot for me to heal — physically and psychically — while I prepared for the next of life's great adventures.
A couple of months ago, after receiving a clean bill of health from the good doctors at Parkland Hospital, I decided to embark on a rather ambitious — but very personal — project. My plan is to shoot all the homes and businesses on Swiss Avenue between La Vista and I-45, and (with their permission) the homeowners and others who use this marvelous street as a way to de-stress their busy days, bring beauty into their lives, and soak up some of the history this community has to offer.
This is a photographic documentary project. . . but with a heavy bias toward creating photographs that are pleasing to look at. In the main, this is about "home," that idealized concept most of us have of "the place when you go there, they have to take you in," as the poet, Robert Frost, once wrote.
What it is not is an Architectural Digest project. Not even close. Not that there's anything wrong with that; this just isn't it. But neither is it a gritty, hard-edged look at the "seamy side of life." This is a look at the homes, businesses, and people of Swiss Avenue through the eyes of someone who loves this neighborhood.
The Swiss Avenue Project
The project will have several aspects to it:
1) A Monograph — This is a book of large prints to be chosen from all the photographs I make, and it will be custom-bound and presented to the City of Dallas for inclusion in the City Archives as an historical record.
2) I want to present the Monograph at a city council meeting or other appropriate venue just prior to the annual Swiss Avenue Tour of Homes on Mother's Day.
3) I will create at least two books and make samples available to the homeowners associations for the purpose of fundraising, with the profits being divided equally between myself and the HOAs.
4) I have begun designing this website and will continue to update it with the images I make. You can see some sample images from the project here, and the site will eventually include text (80 – 100 words each) on the history, homeowners and other people I meet during shooting, activities, and so on, on the street, as well as photos of each of those subjects.
5) I'll produce a video of the photos and will make these available.
6) I will also promote the project with the media. I believe it has all the elements that make a good news or feature story, particularly for TV and print media.
There are probably other ways to aggregate the photos that I've not yet imagined so that a wide audience can see them and appreciate them. For the record, I'm more than happy to entertain suggestions.
Why am I engaging in such an ambitious undertaking? More than likely, it's not to make money. Quite probably, it will cost more than I make from the project.
Simply put: I'm doing this for a couple of reasons — recognition and gratitude.
After 35 years of shooting (mostly for my own pleasure and a little commercially) I've decided to take this talent of mine that has remained buried for far too long, dig it up, dust it off, and show it to the world. Also, this is a way for me to show my gratitude to the City of Dallas and Parkland Hospital for helping me when things looked pretty bleak.
So. . . that's my story. . . and that's what I plan to do. Why am I telling you all this? Because I want your "blessing," if you will, for the project. . . and your participation. You may have already seen me walking up and down Swiss Avenue, stopping to shoot homes as I walked.
First, I want you to know what I'm doing so it doesn't appear inappropriate or alarm anyone. Second, I would like your permission to shoot some detail shots that I could only achieve close up. That means, of course, stepping closer than my normal sidewalk point-of-view. This is the type of shot that gives texture to the context that my panoramic photos provide.
Should you see me on the sidewalk in the morning or afternoon, I hope you'll take the time to stop and strike up a conversation. I'd love to get to know you, the home you live in, and some of its history.
If, for some reason, you prefer not to have your home included in the project, I will respect your wishes, reluctantly. On the other hand, if you'd like to invite me in for a cup of coffee and a photographic tour of your home, I probably won't turn you down. I'm open to both possibilities.
For those brave souls who have trudged all the way to the end of this overlong essay, I offer you my congratulations and my thanks. I look forward to meeting you and photographing your homes from the sidewalks of Swiss Avenue.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Standifer Stevens
4812 Swiss Avenue
214.650.7924
lsstevens@pentagrafx.com
