I Hadn't Slept Since Tuesday

My first big commercial shoot and everything that could go wrong

“Steve’s available on Thursday. Schedule us for that day,” said the art director. “Of course, I’ll make arrangements,” I replied. This was my first job for Belk and I would be shooting an in-store poster. Steve Sharman was booked as the male model, playing a Dad opposite Marietta Hoover as the Mom.

My heart was pounding when I hung up the phone. ”Oh man, I thought to myself, don’t screw this up.” I was afraid of the art director - he held my paycheck - but more importantly, I was nervous about Steve, he held my reputation. Steve was “Mr. Belk”, the model cast for all important Belk print promotions. When George Clooney showed up for his first audition, I can imagine the casting agent telling him, “Well, we wanted Steve Sharman, but Steve was already booked. I guess you’ll do.” Steve was that famous. While a Charlotte boy, he had already moved to Atlanta for modeling but he was always happy to come back to Charlotte for work and family.

The author on a commercial shoot for Belk deparment stores on October 23, 1980. Lighting from a Speedotron 2401A with 3 heads.

I checked the weather. Unseasonably cold and blustery. I called the art director, Bill Smart, and asked, “Bill, should we push back the shoot? The weather is not looking good.” “Nope,” he replied with a seriousness that straightened my back, “you have lighting, don’t you?”

Yes, I had lighting, but my lighting was a Speedotron Blackline 2401A and a total of 3 flash heads. Top of the line studio lighting. I had never used it outside, or even thought about the possibility.

Thursday came, I don’t think I had slept since Tuesday. I bought ten times more film than I would need from Camera World. I packed my car, a Honda Accord, a doo-doo brown color with my light stands, Speedotron kit, cameras, film and tripod. All the seats were folded down. I was working alone - no assistant in those days. The location was an almost new house, beige, single story.

Commercial photo shoot for Belk in Charlotte, North Carolina. Camera: Mamiya RB67 and Ektachrome transparency film.

Parking in front of the house, I was an hour early, running the details through my mind. I needed to be ready. I wanted Steve to like working with me, I wanted to deliver for Belk. And then it hit me. I have lighting, but what about power? I had no power! My three-thousand dollar kit of lights would be useless on what had turned into an unusually blustery, cold October day. The art director told me no one would be home, so I snuck around the outside of the house and found an exterior plug, I started to set up the lights before anyone arrived.

Polaroid from the shoot on October 23, 1980.

“Yikes,” I gasped - a wind gust caught my first light stand and umbrella and I grabbed it just in time. Then the other light stand started to blow over - I was playing Whac-A-Mole with my lighting and the wind. Laying the stands on their sides, I remember seeing a pile of bricks lying under a tree on my search for the electrical outlet. My Eagle Scout “Be Prepared” was clearly not working so “Resourcefulness” took over. I balanced the bricks on the bases of the light stand, quite proud of myself.

Bill arrived, driving the prop car - a shiny brand new Buick Estate Wagon. Steve and Marietta arrived together, magically already dressed for their roles, looking like a perfect suburban couple, Belk’s target market.

“Hey Ron,” Steve exclaimed before he was even out of the car, like we were old friends. “Meet my friend Marietta.” Marietta, with a smile as wide as her heart, reached out to shake hands. We walked together towards the prop car, Steve continuing, “I’ve heard great things about you.”

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Images from October 23, 1980. Temperature 51 degrees, 15 mph wind out of the northeast. Mamiya RB67 camera. Ektachrome transparency film. Art Director: Bill Smart. Model Credit: Marietta Hoover. Apologies to the child, I don’t remember your name.