dkthompson

Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh NC, Oct. 16, 2022. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Capital Blvd at Lane Street, Raleigh NC, Nov. 2018. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Bumper sticker in visitor lot off Edenton St., Raleigh NC, Jan. 11, 2023. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

14th Annual “Moral March on Raleigh”, sponsored by HK on Jones Street & NC NAACP, Fayetteville St., Raleigh NC, Feb.8, 2020. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

more signs & ephemera. I never pass up a political bumper sticker. I'm also the guy who pulls over for signs and street art as well as walks out to medians on busy streets. I actually have a blaze yellow vest in my car for just such occasions.

“Vote” poster on Shelton & N. Greensboro St., Carrboro NC, Aug. 30, 2024. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Political signs, N. Greensboro St., Carrboro NC, Nov. 2, 2024. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Post-it note, “Not Voting is Lame”, near Old West, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill NC, Nov. 10, 2024. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Remnants of Voting posters found on wall near parking lot off Davie St., Raleigh NC, May 24, 2023. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

I walk around a lot looking for political and protest signage and ephemera, sometimes I will collect it as well. I have donated much of it to either the NCMOH or UNC-CH.

"Moral Monday" demonstration at the NC State Legislature & Halifax Mall, Raleigh NC, June 23, 2014. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

"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, Aug. 28, 2014. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

"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, Aug. 28, 2014. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

"Women's Rally on Raleigh", Halifax Mall, Raleigh NC. Jan. 20, 2018. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Since I have covered a lot of protests, I always try to focus on the message more than the person because for one thing you don't have to worry about IDs for publication, but also you can get more use out of the images if they are clean, tight views.

Raleigh NC on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

“Vote!” mural by Beverly McIver, 514 New Bern Ave. near East St., Raleigh NC, Nov. 1, 2024. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

June 5, 2020—Artwork covering the boarded up windows of Garland restaurant, Martin St., Raleigh NC. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Voting rights mural on Glenwood Ave., Raleigh NC, Dec. 9, 2022. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Election Day in NC, here's some fodder from my files.

times are different now there are so many options. if you’re not comfortable with it no reason to use one. i eventually moved on to carrying a contax T2 most everywhere. Then it was an LX7 and GR3, now it’s the X100F. Times change

I used one for years in 80s & 90s as my everyday carry. it was one of the only really small dependable cameras on market. a lot of the candid photos that wound up in my work in music packaging were done with a 35S. I found it liberating from my more controlled day job as photographer

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

set for the details using white paper for one of the reflections.

I didn't have time to do many setup snaps here, but basically with mirrors you have to create a reflection, usually a white or gray card is lit off set and then reflected into the mirror. you use a view camera or a PC lens to correct perspective.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

besides shifting to control perspective, you use the tilt or swing if lateral, to control the plane of focus. along with the angle of the back of camera, this front tilt/swing can help get sharp images front to back.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

the curator requested these details, each one was made tricky because of the mirrors, and also details set deep within the piece. using the 85mm PC Nikkor in addition to the 45mm PC I was able to use the shifts & swings to advantage. PC lenses are made for this type of work.

I usually abhor using wide lenses in studio, but will if I have to, this was the case here where I was able to get close and "hide" the camera's reflection from the mirrors of this piece.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

Corner cupboard, with carved farm animal scenes, made by Tilden Stone of NC, ca. 1942-1950. NC Museum of History 2022.35.1.

this day back in 2023 I had this piece in the studio. a real doozy that took 2 days to get done with the all the details. It gave me flashbacks to a Thomas Day piece I once did 18 views of. I figured out that with the 45mm PC I could get a perspective that "hid" the camera from the mirrors.

Jock Lauterer shot this photo for the Daily Tar Heel, shows Frank Wilkinson on left, being introduced by UNC-CH student body president Paul Dickson at "Moore's Wall"named for NC Gov. Dan K Moore. Wilkinson was invited to speak on campus but was banned and instead appear at the edge. Mar. 2, 1966.

there are two main photos of "Moore's Wall" that you often see, the one previously posted, and another from the Raleigh N&O Collection by the late staffer Ken Cooke. this view is from Jock Lauterer again, of the student paper the Daily Tar Heel and appears to be from across the street.

Lauterer's image on front of Daily Tar Heel, Mar. 3 1966. Jock Lauterer would go on to spend decades working as a photojournalist and advocate for the local press and community stories.

Ken Cooke of the N&O and later Fayetteville Observer would cover Frank Wilkinson appearing at UNC, and this photo is the one you often see associated with the day. It is now part of the N&O Collection at the State Archives.

Mar 2 1966 is the day that "Moore's Wall" came about at UNC Chapel Hill. It marks the edge of campus and Franklin St. and was where activist Frank Wilkinson addressed students after being prohibited to speak on campus for being a known communist due to the "Speaker Ban Law" passed by legislature.

I carry some & extras all the time when working. you never know when you will need them. One event I cover every year that has a marching band or drum line. they get loud as shit to work near.

pro tip: earplugs.

"World's Grumpiest Old Man" street art, Varsity Alley off Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC, April 27, 2023. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

walked down Varsity Alley in Chapel Hill today and passed the spot where a bit of my favorite street art in town used to be. In 2024 the walls on both sides of the narrow walkway were repainted covering up years of graffiti. Grumpy man no more.

speaking of protests, taking one of my weekly walks, this time in Chapel Hill, brings me past this unassuming brick wall that made history tomorrow in 1966 where Frank Wilkinson would challenge the “speaker ban” law. The plaque commemorates the protest for what became “Moore’s Wall”

the past decade I have branched out to making detailed notes, collecting ephemera and making audio field recordings all as a way of provenance. It has become a "job" almost, but I find it gratifying when the work is used.

ultimately this is what I have been trying to accomplish with my work given to UNC, which I have always done with an eye towards academic research and institutional use. Since I often have to look for imagery for work, and come up empty, I have tried to document things I think will be of use.

But the inclusion of my work came from the curators and others, simply because the amount of work available in this time of everyone carrying a smart phone is not as accessible as people think. For corporate held newspapers, the usage fees even at discounts for public institutions is out of reach

protests on my own time, and donated the work to UNC, they came to me for imagery. I had long been donating signs and ephemera I was collecting as well. I have done a lot of photo research for work, Civil Rights, Jim Crow era and also labor rights. I worked as the photo research on this one.

the exhibit started as a way to show the plywood murals that were being collected from the BLM period following Covid-19. that time of 2020-2022. Eventually it was decided to expand the small exhibit to show different types of protests in state history. Since some of the staff knew that I documented

An artist from the Triad region painted the opening graphic for the museum, which became part of the museum collection as a prop afterwards. it's drying off in the spray booth here, having arrived the week before opening still damp.

I had probably 20-25 photos in the exhibit. It wasn't my doing, but came about because the staffers knew of my extracurricular activities of documenting protests in the area. I had long kept this a "secret" of sorts since I worked in state gov't and I did these on my own time. around 2015 or so I had donated all the work to UNC which became on ongoing thing.

editorial photographer Bryan Regan provided us with the great image at top right. This image was on Jones Street as protesters marched towards the state Legislature. the one under it on right, came from a mural survey the museum I had do during Covid/BLM in 2020. the image on left bottom is one of mine and the one above was from the N&O Collection at State Archives showing counterprotestors to a sit in. one in middle came from Triad region if I recall.

I have collected a lot of signs and ephemera and donated to either the MOH or UNC over the past decade. One thing I picked up, not terribly exciting, was this glass fragment from the busted out window at YMCA in downtown Raleigh after the first night of George Floyd protests.

FB memory from this day back in 2023, museum work putting together the "Signs of the Times" exhibit on protest. I had a lot of work in this one, making me a bit self conscious. the exhibit started from collecting BLM murals during Covid, but expanded to look at protests across history.

Hubcaps hang on wall of old Crook’s Corner, 610 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill NC, Mar. 10, 2024. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

#Round Hubcaps hang on wall of old Crook’s Corner, 610 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill NC, Mar. 10, 2024. The James Beard Award winning restaurant was a local institution, closing in 2021 after nearly 40 years. #BlueSkyArtShow DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Fisheye view from inside the NC General Assembly building looking up at protesters surrounding the rotunda on floor above, "Repeal HB2" protest--May 16, 2016. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Protesters gather #Round the rotunda at the NC General Assembly building during a Moral Monday "Repeal HB2" protest, Raleigh NC, May 16, 2016. #BlueSkyArtShow DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

Supporters and media gather #Round the Rev. William Barber and the late Dr. Charles van Der Horst, outside the NC Legislature during the NC NAACP "Moral Day of Action for Healthcare" & mass sit-in, Raleigh NC, May 30, 2017. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH #BlueSkyArtShow

Paper plates on door mark a pizzeria as "take out" only at the start of the Covid-19 shutdown in downtown Raleigh NC, March 2020. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

#Round paper plates used as store signage for a pizzeria along Fayetteville Street, downtown Raleigh NC in March of 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 shutdown. #BlueSkyArtShow DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

May 31, 2020—Fayetteville Street, Raleigh NC after a night of protests over the police killing of George Floyd. DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

"Paint the World with Kindness", chalked #Round a manhole cover on Fayetteville Street, Raleigh NC, May 31, 2020, after a night of protests over the police killing of George Floyd. #BlueSkyArtShow DK Thompson Collection/Southern Folklife Collection/UNC-CH

I shot prep sports and high school football, basketball with them. keep up with a motor drive. I guarantee you will look positively anachronistic with one. btw, Bill Owens did "Suburbia" with a Norman 200B bare tube.

the Norman 200B and then the 400, those were 1980-90 era high power battery strobes. they'd be similar to using an Elinchrom Ranger head & pack now. the 200B packs a punch and has an 8 pound battery pack. big ass reflector. 200 watts. you can throw light out 50 feet and get f8 with Tri-X

well historically they started using electronic flash by late 50s so don't be afraid to put a strobe on that thing. I used a Lumedyne strobe, which was a funky battery bare tube, reflector modular system on my speed and later pacemaker. When I was a stringer at a paper in the 80s we used Norman

landfill, but unfortunately a lot was thrown into dumpsters as well.