0036PL2SK. The Busy Workload Before Departing
(POLAROID, 4x5 inch, colour, 1989)
I wrote this postcard a week before leaving for New York, in the midst of a relentless schedule that had kept me working non-stop for weeks. It features a Polaroid from one of those assignments—a shot from the Giordano advertising campaign. With only two days left before departure, I still had two more images to complete, leaving no room for anything else.
During those hectic days, I wrote several postcards to Holly, documenting the progress and details of various projects. Without these notes, reconstructing this workflow more than thirty years later would have been impossible. Reading between the lines, I can see that I had already started turning down new assignments—a necessity for a professional photographer, where an overloaded schedule means anything overlapping must simply be declined.
Looking back at these postcards, I can retrace not only the intensity of my workload but also my exhaustion and persistent headaches. The only thing that kept me going was the anticipation of our reunion.
動程紐約前的忙碌工作個案
寫這個明信片的時候，是起程紐約之前的一星期。由於手頭幾個工作個案都要離開之前完成，連續地忙碌了幾個星期。這張明信片採用了工作的寶麗來，也即是正在拍攝中，佐丹奴廣告系列的其中一張。跟著的兩天要完成餘下的兩張，便不能再負荷其他的個案了。在那些日子，過去幾天內也寫過好幾張明信片給楚喬，點滴記下不同個案的進度細節。要不然三十多年後今天怎可以梳理出整個流程。從明信片的字行間，也知道當時已推掉一些個案。作為職業攝影師的生活，這也是常常發生的事。當你已有工作個案在手，如果新來的個案要在同一時間進行或完成，那你只得把新來的推掉。在那些寄給楚喬的明信片中，也得知自己當時的極度疲倦和頭痛。支撐著意志的只是將來見面相聚時的喜悅。