bgetty
Brandon Getty
Almost two years ago, my girlfriend and I (along with our small dog) moved into a cute two bedroom apartment in the Magnolia District of Stockton, CA. The general area isn't the greatest, but our neighborhood feels safe enough and the price of rent can't be beat. We have had no issues since moving in. Until recently...
The property features a separate garage, which I promptly turned into my darkroom upon moving in. There is no working plumbing in the garage and it was an admittedly ramshackle setup...but it worked well enough to learn the basics of wet printing and instilled in me an immense respect for the craft. When I worked as a freelance writer, I was locked in that garage for 4-6 hours every other day. Now that I've begun working full-time, I'm lucky to make it in for a session several times a month.
Last night around 11:30pm, my girlfriend let the dog out into the side yard. She yells to me that the garage light is on. I rush to the door, and sure enough, light can be seen streaming beneath the crack of the door -- a huge red flag, as I place a rubber seal in this crack before leaving the garage to help prevent outside dirt and dust from entering. I grab a baseball bat and head toward the garage. The first thing I notice is that I had mistakenly left the lock open after my last session. My stomach dropped and my face flushed as I opened the door and cocked the bat against my shoulder.
And then...nothing. No intruders caught in the act, just nothing. My Omega enlarger was gone, as was my easel, along with various other things I kept in the garage (books, cleaning cloths, a few envelopes of paper). I was deflated.
To add insult to injury, the thieves used my city administered garbage can to wheel away their find. Getting the waste management company to send you a new one of those is much more difficult than finding a new enlarger. I always read of people feeling violated, molested, and almost dirty after a break-in or theft, and now I know the feeling. So grateful and thankful that it wasn't our actual residence...but now I'm worried that it could be.
Sorry for the grim topic, but just wanted to vent and give a little heads up to anyone who uses their garage as a space to create and grow as a photographer. Thanks for listening, all.
B.
The property features a separate garage, which I promptly turned into my darkroom upon moving in. There is no working plumbing in the garage and it was an admittedly ramshackle setup...but it worked well enough to learn the basics of wet printing and instilled in me an immense respect for the craft. When I worked as a freelance writer, I was locked in that garage for 4-6 hours every other day. Now that I've begun working full-time, I'm lucky to make it in for a session several times a month.
Last night around 11:30pm, my girlfriend let the dog out into the side yard. She yells to me that the garage light is on. I rush to the door, and sure enough, light can be seen streaming beneath the crack of the door -- a huge red flag, as I place a rubber seal in this crack before leaving the garage to help prevent outside dirt and dust from entering. I grab a baseball bat and head toward the garage. The first thing I notice is that I had mistakenly left the lock open after my last session. My stomach dropped and my face flushed as I opened the door and cocked the bat against my shoulder.
And then...nothing. No intruders caught in the act, just nothing. My Omega enlarger was gone, as was my easel, along with various other things I kept in the garage (books, cleaning cloths, a few envelopes of paper). I was deflated.
To add insult to injury, the thieves used my city administered garbage can to wheel away their find. Getting the waste management company to send you a new one of those is much more difficult than finding a new enlarger. I always read of people feeling violated, molested, and almost dirty after a break-in or theft, and now I know the feeling. So grateful and thankful that it wasn't our actual residence...but now I'm worried that it could be.
Sorry for the grim topic, but just wanted to vent and give a little heads up to anyone who uses their garage as a space to create and grow as a photographer. Thanks for listening, all.
B.
