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Wednesday, June 4, 2014

a job worth doing




Etching brush and ladle
belonging to
Joe Toomey

I often heard this saying from my mother, who likely heard the same words from her father. I assumed that Grandpa Joe had coined the phrase himself, but eventually realized that it is an old proverb.

***
John Joseph Toomey, my "Grandpa Joe," was born August 7, 1894, in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, to Michael and Ann (Murphy) Toomey. Joe's father, a railroad worker, was "gone a lot," leaving his wife and two young sons to fend for themselves. Ann died when the boys were very young, so their aunt, Ellen (Murphy) Baker, raised them.

Joe's childhood was spent in the loving care of his Aunt 'Nell' and her family, where he learned the value of hard work and a good education. There on the Baker farm in Wisconsin he grew up, working alongside the hired hands, and attending the local one-room school.

After high school, Joe worked on the railroad while taking correspondence courses from the University of Wisconsin. He eventually saved enough money to attend classes at the university, working in a fraternity house kitchen and typing term papers to make ends meet. He never did graduate.

In his late twenties, Joe went to work for the Minneapolis Tribune, which was founded by his cousin, William J. Murphy. Eventually, he was sent to Los Angeles to learn the rotogravure process, including photoengraving and etching, so that he could set up such a department at the Tribune. Joe worked at the Tribune until 1940, when the newspaper was sold.


***

Notes:

SETUP
Backdrop: plywood scrap, painted white and roughed up
I actually 'skated' the plywood over gravel.
+
Shop rag from Home Depot (already a bit dirty!)
I didn't spend a lot of time setting up;
just figured I'd see what happened
and deal with it
in a Wabi Sabi fashion.

original photo
SOOC

LIGHTROOM
Lens Corrections:
fix distortion, perspective, and angle
Crop:
Rule of Thirds - sort of
ample empty space
Presets:
Kim's Light&Airy Workflow

after Lightroom edits
cropped and ready for
Photoshop edit

PHOTOSHOP
Cloning to fill in the right side
kk_rainyday Soft Light 35%
another layer of the same at 47%
+ a layer mask to bring back some clarity
kk_grungedup_2 Multiply 35%

Fonts:
Old Newspaper
Dear Joe
(I know...too easy)

***

Linking up with






5 comments:

  1. Family history is the greatest, isn't it? What a wonderful gift to have so much information and old photos of your family. I love the photo and everything about the story behind it. Wonderful work!!

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  2. Love this Cindy and your set up

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  3. I love this photo...and the story behind it...and how you set it up - all in all - perfect!

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  4. Excellent set up and I loved reading the story about Joe. Great idea for the plywood backdrop, might have to steal that idea :)

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  5. I love the story as much as I do the image.

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