Alleys & Ruins no. 140, Dead Weight (2011, Dallas, TX, 11:45pm)
A new friend agrees to join me on a night shoot in Dallas. I’ve found what appears to be an abandoned semi-trailer deep in a grungy alley and a second set of eyes is a good thing.
I show up and wait for him to arrive. Ed rolls up and gets out of his car. “I hope you don’t mind, I brought some company.”
He opens the back door and four kids bolt out of it. They go running down the alley laughing and screaming. Turns out tonight is his turn to take care of the kids, so like any good father, he brings them to a dark alley in the seedy part of town.
The four boys range from 9 to 16 and they’re thrilled to be part of the shoot, especially since it’s so late.
It’s usually quiet when I work, but tonight will clearly be different. The kids are a boisterous bunch and they never stop moving or laughing. It’s the first and only time I’ve had little kids roaming these dark corners with me. But they understand to not run around in front of the camera, and that works for me. Though I wonder what his ex-wife will say when she finds out.
I get to work, lighting the truck, and it gets quiet. This has grabbed the boys’ attention. But then I need to crawl under the truck to blast the green light, and the howls of laughter start up again, louder than before.
I take four shots, crawling under each time, and they lose it every time.
We finish and it’s after midnight. The kids are more excited than when they arrived. I don’t think dad will be getting much sleep tonight.
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