Jammed Cameras & Cosmic Fate

Written By Robert Olding

Some shots go exactly as planned. This one… decided to take a detour through another dimension.

The film jammed. The strobe misfired. Technically, a mistake. But what I got instead? A scene straight out of some long-lost ‘60s sci-fi flick. Barbarella meets a rock-and-roll fever dream.

Des De Leon, singer for the SF Bay Area band Julie Plug, standing in her own shadow, ray gun locked on some unseen cosmic threat. Her sequins catching just enough light to look like she’s mid-teleport. A space-age heroine caught between realities, mid-battle, mid-guitar solo, mid-who even knows?

I set out to take a band promo shot. The universe decided to give me a movie poster instead. And honestly? I’m not mad about it.

Robert Olding

Growing up in Southwestern Idaho, I had a great love for all things creative and was generally thought of as an all around weird kid. My access to the arts and culture were limited mostly to a TV, my dad’s audio cassette deck, and an upright piano. I managed to keep busy by enlisting my five brothers and sisters to star in my various attempts at film making. My version of Grease is legendary amongst a handful of people living in Idaho.

I pursued music as a vocation and enjoyed many years playing drums with various local bands, thinking I was destined to be a rock star. After taking a photography class as an elective in college, I traded in my drumsticks for a camera and graduated from ArtCenter College of Design.

I've lived and worked in some of the coolest cities in the US - New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. I'm currently settled in the Minneapolis area, where I spend my free time watching my youngest daughter grow up.

https://www.robertolding.com
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Now, Elsewhere, and the Space Between
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Elegance of the Unseen