#WindowsOnWednesday, storefront window with Covid poster, downtown Raleigh NC, Nov. 3, 2020. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

that time back on August 5 2023 when I was driving down the road and found myself doubling back, getting the ladder out of the back of car. only history geeks would understand

memory from Aug. 4 2024, I noticed that one of my favorite pieces of graffiti in the gov't complex was no more. after nearly two year run on the side door of the Dept. of Labor bldg on Salisbury Street in Raleigh NC, RIP "Joe Nuts". Photographed here in 2023. can't pass this door without remembering

snaps from Aug. 4 2020, in the midst of Covid we began to put together the Carolina Beach Music exhibit we had started work on in 2019. I had been looking forward to these outfits coming to the studio, but because of Covid shutdown and since they were loans we decided it wasn't worth the staff time

FB memory feed had this snap of a plate served up from Quality Seafood in Elizabeth City NC from back in 2015. that week I was at the Museum of the Albemarle, which is right down the street and I ate every dinner there. it has become mandatory for MOH staff to eat there when in town.

August 3, 2017 - "Altar Ego the Clown" was back on Jones Street for an hour each day in front of the Legislature. I had photographed him back in 2013, and as then, this time was another bit of silent protest performance. He didn't break character until the hour was up. we had a chat afterwards.

studio flashback this day in 2017, I was working on the "Shape of Fashion" exhibit and had bustles in the studio. I had about 3 views on each, and no surprise here, I had to relight each one. the details were used in signage for the exhibit. D3X was used here with 85mm PC tilt-shift Micro Nikkor

studio memory from this day back in 2024, the uniform of Millie Dunn Veasey, WW2 veteran from the WAC 6888th, "six triple eight" postal battalion. I had photographed the uniform flat when it came in, but it had gone out for conservation and was put on a form when it returned. Link below for her bio

three long walks this week. ephemera collected. bumper sticker sighted. I started collecting ephemera a few years ago as provenance for the photos I was donating to an archive. for protests I usually walk the ground after and pick up things left behind. many of these are now in collections.

“Small Town #Big ❤️” on Bynum Bridge, Bynum NC, June 27, 2026. The historic bridge is closed to vehicular traffic, but open to walkers, becoming a haven for street artists #BlueSkyArtShow DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Family photo - #Big dog nose in backyard, 2001. 35mm film scanned from print. #BlueSkyArtShow DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

#Big "Giant Rat" at the State Fair, Raleigh NC 2003. 120 film, scanned from print. #BlueSkyArtShow DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

#Big turnout of teachers for the NCAE "March for Students & Rally for Respect", Bicentennial Mall, Raleigh NC, May 16, 2018. The State Capitol can be seen in background. #BlueSkyArtShow DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

#Big sign at a "Moral Monday" protest behind the State Legislature on Halifax Mall, Raleigh NC July 22, 2013. #BlueSkyArtShow - DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

American flag on a #Big sombrero at the "Families Belong Together" march, State Capitol grounds, Raleigh NC, June 30, 2018. #BlueSkyArtShow - DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Mary Huff, bassist for the Chapel Hill NC band, Southern Culture on the Skids, with a #Big beehive wig, ca. 1995. 35mm film, scanned from print. #BlueSkyArtShow - DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Here's a neat studio memory from this day back in 2022, these fresnel lens elements were from the 1870s and Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Since they are glass, the way to light them is from behind. but a soft box is used on top as well. being lenses the camera angle was tricky.

well it looks like I have run out of days for my #Flag series, so let's end with this one. my entry for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day 2009. this is the Vietnam Memorial at the NC State Capitol. 120 film, scanned from a print I made in the darkroom.

took a walk around the Legislature the other evening and passed this corner office which for years was a rotating gallery of political signs. they must have reassigned the space, because the other day the windows had been cleared out. the end of an era of window ephemera this side of Jones street.

studio memory from this day back in 2019. I was beginning to work on the "Toy Boom" exhibit. this was fun one to work on, but the exhibit got dealt a short hand by the Covid shutdown.

Artifact of the day, from the days of 4x5 film>July 31, 1966--Martin Luther King speaks at Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh NC. The KKK protests by holding a march to Nash square led by Grand Dragon Robert Jones. UKA Chaplain and FBI informant George Dorsett was in attendance as well. (NCMOH 2003.150.92)

#Flag at the “Vote Your Dreams, Not Your Fears": Rally for voting rights and march around State Capitol in honor of 51st anniversary of the March on Washington, Raleigh NC, August 28, 2014. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

July 30 2021, I had these creeps in the studio. From Schoenhut's "Humpty Dumpty Circus", ca. 1918-1930. In addition to photographing individually, I did this grouping. you can't do a whole lot of styling with artifacts. It's always a challenge trying to support them in an non-invasive way

walk after work yesterday evening, since the museum closed I haven't been around the gov't complex much. graffiti and street art is so ephemeral there's always something different yet also the same. these El Pueblo "Emergency Guide for Immigrants" posters are wheat pasted all over the place.

Wilmington, NC: PT Project Digitization Technician, Belvedere Property Management

#WindowsOnWednesday - storefront window with #Flag design on t-shirt, downtown Pittsboro NC, May 24, 2024. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Another studio memory was this toy sewing machine from the 50s I had back in 2021. so this one features a straight up tabletop view for the record, then I decided to put it together as if clamped to a table. I used a scrap of fabric covered MDF held by two Mathelini clamps.

I have a couple of studio memories for today. First up is from 2024 and is a golf ball & tee done two ways. one using black acrylic, the other a mirror with green paper in background that is being lit with a snoot on a studio strobe, and that is reflected into the mirror appearing as "beneath".

#Flag and Statue of Liberty motif on tie worn by conservative member of the House, Michael Speciale (2013-2021), during the Select Committee on Redistricting meeting, Legislative Office Bldg., Raleigh NC, Aug. 25, 2017. - DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

studio memory from July 29, 2021. a bag phone and vacuum cleaner kind of day. I would work on another vacuum cleaner the next day as well and do another grouping, like this one, using monofilament to support objects. the D850 was used here with 85mm PC tilt shift micro nikkor. speedotron strobes