One of the joys of working on a book project, or any personal photography project, is the search for subject matter. For me, it feels like a treasure hunt. For “Flush” (the tentative title for my book of bathroom photos), I found treasure in Tierra Amarilla in north central New Mexico. In the town center of “TA,” as the locals call it, sits a beautifully restored county courthouse and a modern town hall/sheriff’s office. In stark contrast, much of the rest of the town is in an advanced state of decay.
 
Amidst the decay, our New Mexico workshop group found something unexpected: “Three Ravens Coffee House” run by Korean-American Paul Namkung. Paul (and assistant) served up coffee and pastries rivaling Starbucks, while our group shot pics of him at work. Paul is also a top-flight woodworker; we traded him some of our tourist dollars for a few gorgeous cutting boards.
 
When I heard that Paul had build a modern composting outhouse—he called it an “outerhouse” to distinguish it from a typical outhouse—I asked him to pose for me and he agreed…so long as he didn’t have to sit “on the throne.” (To advance your book project, you'll ask people to do most anything.)

 Tech note: the outerhouse interior was dark so flash was required because. I chose an ambient exposure that preserved the detail in the window. (I think it was a window…could it have been a mirror?) I really dislike the flat, stark quality of light from on-camera flash; whenever possible I bounce my flash off walls or ceilings for a softer, more directional look. That wasn’t possible here. To the rescue: the 1½ foot square heavy-duty aluminum foil sheet I always carry in my bag. I bounced the flash off the foil, which was held over my head, behind me and slightly to camera right, to produce a natural light look.