Dimitre

Dimitre Barde is not only an exceptional photographer, but also a man of great vision and determination.  His goal has always been to be the best and to accomplish the most he possibly could.  Mr. Barde was born in 1965, in Germany, while his father was teaching arts and crafts to the military there.  Dimitre’s mother experimented with photography and his father had taught art at Pittsburg State University.  This would help explain his immense talent in the art field.  Mr. Barde is now a free-lance photographer.

 

In high school I actually was in charge of the newspaper and yearbook.  What happened was Mrs. Rhue was my English teacher in seventh grade.  She was the first person that I worked with doing yearbook photography.  By the time I became a senior, the guy who was teaching the newspaper and yearbook classes retired and they needed a new teacher.  Well, the new teacher they hired to take over was Mrs. Rhue, who I started out with way back when.  She [Mrs. Rhue] didn’t know anything about running a dark room, or you know, doing that kind of work on premise.  So I sat down with her and the principal, Tom Hedges at the time, and we worked it out that I was going to teach Mrs. Rhue how to run a dark room, how to develop film.  Get her acclimated to order things so that she could take over the system. 

It was her first year doing that [area of teaching], so they gave me a lot of responsibility, which was real nice to have.  It was a good challenge, and I started out working, you know, all the time, just barely keeping up with all the work that needed to be done.  All the other photographers, prior to that year, had graduated so nobody else knew how to take pictures or develop film or anything.  I was the only one.  Of course there was a lot of students my age and younger that wanted to learn, but all this work is piling on, and I had to teach everybody how to do everything.  At the same time, I had started a bike shop called the Bicycle Shop Etc. and I was the only one who knew anything about repairing the bikes, ordering, and all that stuff.  We were opening up that business, as well with help from my parents a little bit, but they didn’t know anything about running a business.  So, at the beginning of the year I was pulling my hair out and I didn’t know how I was going to do it. 

By the middle part of the year, I had trained people how to work on bikes for the repairs, got a system at the bike shop, worked out a system at school, taught people how to develop film, and how to take pictures.  So, by halfway through the year, I was basically directing and taking the photography jobs that I wanted, delegating out the other jobs to other people, and just making sure that worked. I learned a lot by doing that.  I learned more doing that than anything ever, I think, at one time. 

I started working at a bike shop called Petal Power in 1977.  I worked at that bike shop all the way up until probably 1981 or ’82.  The owner of the shop was one of my mentors in a way, kinda like an older brother to me.  I was the oldest in my family so I didn’t have an older brother; he kind of filled that spot.  He was like that figure for me.  His name was Jerry Haggard, and he was electrocuted and killed when he was twenty-one years old.  I would’ve been, like, seventeen; he was trying to hook up HBO out behind the old Petal Power bike shop, illegally.  It was damp out and it was back in the alleys where those big transformers are, and it arched over and it killed him.  So, that was a pretty traumatic experience for me. Then, the town of Pittsburg did not have a bike shop for probably almost a year.  Then somehow, my parents came up with the idea, lets do it.  They, together with Bob Blunk and Katie Blunk, decided, through the bike shop, they’re going to do this thing called photo records. Do different things in the community that have to do with photography somehow, and then I’ll run the bike shop.  That’s where the “etc.” part came up, Bicycle Shop, Etc.  They didn’t really know what they wanted to do; they were just doing whatever.  It was good.  I learned a lot from having that shop.  I learned a lot about how to deal with people, how to set up systems and organize things, the repairs and [how to] keep track of different things. 

Then [I] went through that year [senior year], and took on a project photographing all the instructors at the school.  So, I photographed all the teachers.  I did portraits of them, and I think there were seventy-two teachers at the time at PHS.  During the graduation ceremony I had a show, I had all the pictures up in the hallway on the way in; and that went over real well.  It was pretty cool. 

That school year I actually got first place [in the] state contest at KU.  We went to Pittsburg State and I won first place there, and they sent us to state for a photo contest.  That was a pretty good experience.  Basically, I did that with my Pentex K-1000,  just the basic camera; but when I was up at state there was all these photographers that had top-notch equipment, the fancy camera bags, and it was very discouraging.   I remember what my mom told me.  She said, “It doesn’t matter what kind of camera you have or how fancy it is; its’ how you take the picture.  The idea and the content that matters, and the composition.”  So I just ignored everything else, did the best I could; and I ended up winning first place.  That kinda really drove that idea home.  It reinforced that she was right with what she said.  It doesn’t matter what you have, it’s how you use it.

Then I came back from winning first place, state and all that; they kind of knew who I was at that point at Pitt State University.  They needed a photo editor [of the newspaper].  So, I automatically got to be photo editor there.  I did that for a couple years and majored in photojournalism.  Then [I] transferred and went up to KU, University of Kansas and pursued photojournalism.  Basically, it was a reporting degree with three photography classes and I needed to be in the arts where I pretty much come from.  Then, I ended up choosing graphic design, not knowing anything about it; but [I] just knew it was art related.

 I was in a class [at KU] where the instructor was taking us on a field trip to Kansas City to the different professions that are involved with graphic designers or somehow related to graphic design.  We [previously] went to see illustrators, graphic design firms, ad agencies.  Then one [of] the field trips happened to be [to] a photographer and his name happened to be Nick Vedros.  He, to this day, is one of my mentors; I look up to him.  He actually taught me a lot and he’s a very successful and talented photographer.  I walked in his photo studio, not having seen a photo studio ever before, not even knowing that it existed like that.  My vision of a photographer was just a photographer that was like a newspaper photographer, photojournalism, I didn’t even know anything about the other.  Walked in his studio.  The day I walked in there I knew right away that’s what I wanted to do.

So, I basically ended up finding out that they [Nick Vedros’s studios] offered internships.  They said, “If you have a portfolio you need to bring a portfolio in, and we’ll review it and pick people to be interns.  We pick two people.”

They said that the deadline is next week and I said, “Well, I don’t even have a portfolio yet.” 

They said, “You have a week.”

I said,  “Ok.”  So I went back and I put a portfolio together and I made all these prints.  So, I mean, that was a lot of work for one week.  I silk screened my name on this big black box that I had these eleven by fourteen prints matted and mounted, and I silk screened my name all in lower case.  That’s how my logo came about.  I showed up, actually I called them; and they said, “Oh, I’m sorry, we’ve already chosen the two people for interns this summer.”

I said, “Well, I spent all week putting this portfolio together.”  I said, “Could you at least take a look at it?”  I didn’t have a portfolio and I had been working all nighters all week long doing this. 

So, they said, “Ok, why don’t you come in and we’ll look at it.”  I went in there, showed them the work, and they were blown away by what I did in one week; and they saw the drive and how excited I was about photography in general.  Well, I got a phone call a few days later, and they said, “We’ve talked it over and we really like your work.  We think that we can make a spot here for you.  So we’re going to make a spot for a third intern this summer.  We’ll probably have you in the dark room a little bit, but we’ll get you around the camera as well.”  That was what happened and I ended up learning how to print with Nick Vedros’s personal black and white printer, whose name was Tim Pott.  I worked with him in the dark room [and] learned how to process the film, black and white. Learned how to print really, really top notch--do it the right way instead of the quick way,-- like I did all through school.  Then, I got near and around the camera.  I learned a few things, and then from there they started hiring me back as an assistant. 

The following summer I got an internship up in Chicago from Nick [Vedros].  He gave me a few names of people to talk to, and I sent out a resume and started making some phone calls; and realized I just needed to get up there. I knew I had to go to a big city to do what I wanted to do.  I was familiar with Chicago because my dad grew up in Milwaukee, so we’d go through Chicago when I was a kid.  Then, Pat McCurdy, [a friend from high school], had moved up there, [and] about a year later I moved there.  I didn’t really have a choice of going to any other places.  I was excited about going to Chicago anyway, it made sense.

So I went up there, and started calling and making appointments and I was at a lot of different studios.  I finally found a studio that was [called] Big Deal Productions.  They do a lot of catalog work, and then they do commercials upstairs.  They had two different divisions of the studio.  They do commercials for clients such as McDonalds, you know, and those type commercials.  They didn’t have an internship; and most people who offered internships, who were offering them to me, didn’t pay anything.  I couldn’t go up to a city like that and not get paid.  I had to make some money because I had to pay for school.  So I sat down, it was my last interview, my last chance at Big Deal Productions, and they said, “Well, we don’t offer an internship and we don’t have a position open.”

I said, “Do you know what an internship is?”  They didn’t know.  I said, “Look, here’s how it works.  Basically, you just take advantage of a student.  Pay them a little bit of money, and the trade off is they get to experience different parts of your company and learn how to business it.”  So, they seemed to think it was a good idea and would give it a try.  I went up there and I got an internship with that place; and the first day they threw me in the film room, and I was loading four by five sheets of film for photographers shooting twelve sheet brackets for Montgomery Wards.  There was a lot of film being cranked through in a day.   I did that for a while, did that probably the first month and a half that I was there. 

Out of the two month period of time I got really quick at loading film.  So I was able to give myself time to deliver the film to each photographer.  I started picking the brains of each photographer and asking them how the business works, “What do you do?  Are you full time or freelance?”   A lot of the free lancers were pretty giving [of] information, and they taught me how to light, and how to do different things with the camera; and how the business works with freelance photographers.  So, by the time I was about ready to leave, I pretty much had a handle on how to do all the stuff; but I hadn’t actually done it.  Then I felt prepared.  I went in the office and I said, “Look, I’m really good at loading film.  I’ve been loading film the whole time I’m here, but part of the trade off is I’m suppose to get an opportunity to be an assistant and maybe even shoot a few things.”  I said, “So, I think I’ve done really well for you guys up to this point, but you haven’t really given back to me on your part of the deal.”  The next thing you know, they started letting me assist, and then that same day they put me behind a camera and it worked out so well that they were asking me when I was going to come back because they wanted to use me as a free lance photographer.  So, that was a big break. 

Then I went back, finished my last semester in school, would’ve been December ’90 when I graduated.  Then, let’s see, I came back to Chicago, started taking pictures for Big Deal Productions, and then assisting other photographers, individual photographers here and there.  I assisted other photographers for maybe two to three months.  In the meantime, I was trying to figure a way to become a photographer in the other catalog studios because one studio wasn’t big enough to keep you busy all the time. I kept thinking I was going to save up money to put a portfolio together.  Every time I got a little bit of money, I didn’t want to do a shot that’s of a VCR--that’s a basic, straight forward catalog shot--cause it didn’t seem very fun to me, and that’s not what kind of photography I do.  So, I never really got a portfolio to show these other companies.  I kept thinking, “Gosh, when is this ever going to happen?  I don’t even have a place really to shoot, in a studio to create these photos.” 

I finally just realized that everyday that I was working, I was throwing away Polaroid’s of what we do before we shoot on film.  It’s of all this catalog stuff.  So if they’re throwing it away in the trash, why not just keep them and make a Polaroid book.  So, I created a Polaroid book from these Polaroid’s I was throwing away; I would carry that and I set up interviews with other catalog studios.  I’d show them my creative stuff that I liked to do, and then I’d pull out the Polaroid book and say, “This is to show you that I know what it is you’re hiring me to do.”  We’d look at the Polaroid book and that (snap of fingers) sold it every time.  I was able to get into all the other photography studios by doing that.  That took me to the next level, and I was making more money than if I was just assisting.  I had more work than I needed.  I had to turn down jobs.  All from doing the Polaroid book which a lot of assistants who wanted to be photographers always talked about, you know, how they needed to save up money so they could do a portfolio, and just never ever did it.  I even gave advice to people to do that.  If they really wanted to do that, it’s all they have to do and most people didn’t pursue that.  I think they just weren’t ready to make that step.

Anyway, I moved into a larger space with a friend who was a graphic designer from school.  He had a full time job; we got a big space together where we could live and work.  I did that, and then I started getting my own clients on the side.  Little by little, I was able to work out of the free lance photography, and I started building up enough clients to where I didn’t have to go in and do the catalog work anymore.  It got to a point where now I had my own studio and all my own clients. 

Chris, who I shared the space with, is a graphic designer who I went to school with.  He was giving me work, actually, because he would have jobs where he’d design something, but need photography.  It turned out to be real nice that I ended up getting a degree in graphic design verses photography.  All of my clients, or potential clients, most of them had a graphic design background.  So, then that built up and over the years I finally had a few shows.  I did my own fine art photography, as well, and started getting my name out there a little bit. 

I’ve just moved from my old studio space into a new space, it’s an old church.  It’s not your typical church ‘cause it’s got a flat rooftop; but it’s a big space.  It’s got four thousand square feet.  A huge balcony that wraps all the way around, thirty foot ceilings.  I started that in February, and been working on it all year. I’ve gotten my hands into pouring a concrete counter, cutting and laying slate, hanging glass door, working on metal work, custom metal work going in.  The whole space is like a big art piece for me.  It’s almost done.  A few more things to do, but I designed the whole place with help from Pat McCurdy.  He’s an architect, and he helped me do some of the drawings. It’s going to be a really neat place.  That’s kinda where I’m at now.

I have an event planned there [at the new studio] to promote art in Chicago; and that event is scheduled for the first part of February, so I have to have it done by then.  I don’t know when it’s going to be done, but it should be done by then; it better be done by then! 

I’ve been doing a lot of editorial work lately, so I shoot for a magazine called CRN magazine [Computer Reseller News].  It’s a magazine out of New York, and they do articles on a lot of dot COM companies.  So, they’ll send me around the mid-west area to photograph portraits of the owners of the company, or the CEOs.  They pretty much let me do what I want to do.  They like it to be more fun and funky, different angles, different gels, crazy lighting.  So I do that for them.  There’s another magazine called Publish Magazine, a lot of designer’s are featured in there and its the same idea, only different trade.  I do that and then the Chicago Tribune magazine; it’s a magazine that comes out every Sunday.  I do work for them from time to time.  I just got done doing a photograph for them.  [It was] out December 30, in the Sunday newspaper.  It was a shot of a wine bottle, very conceptual, to support a story about different wines that are out there, what’s recommended by a wine connoisseur.  Let’s see, I did a brochure for Reebok.  I did a lot of capabilities brochures for companies to show what they’re capable of doing, to show the facility and show the people who run the operation.  Some smaller ad stuff for the Tribune, different magazines.  Actually, I just got done doing some stuff for a magazine called Illinois Now, and I covered, or did photos, to support a story on blues in Chicago.  So, they chose three different blues clubs for me to go photograph, and I went and photographed those at night.  Then they paid me to use some photographs that I had from a previous magazine called Where Chicago, where I shot a cover photograph of Eddie Clearwater, who is a blues guy.  They combined those photos in there as well, and that was a pretty good size project.  I don’t know, it’s not out yet; but that magazine will be all over the state of Illinois, and I got some really cool photos from that.  Other clients have been Kodak, Bigsby Kruthers, Pivot Design Inc., Paragraphs, Keroff and Rosenberg, and Crossmedia.

I’ve had lots of photography exhibits.  Everything from more of a traditional gallery situation or like the Old Tree Studios, which there’s a lot of history there from about the turn of the century.  There’s been artists living in these spaces called the Tree Studios, and I had a show there.  I had a show in a doctor’s office; that was pretty wild.  I mean, there was people from, you know, the very conservative end to the liberal end.  There was work in all the different waiting rooms; they had ice in all the different sinks, and they had beer and wine [in the sinks].  It was a pretty cool atmosphere. 

So, [I’ve done everything from] the doctor’s office all the way to a nightclub.  [In the nightclub,] the pieces were real big, blown up, and they were lit with black lights.  I was in charge of lighting the whole club, creating sound, and I did video productions.  I basically created the whole atmosphere for the evening, and that show was not your typical opening.  I didn’t want to go into a nightclub and say, “Ok, lets make this look like a gallery.”  I figured that that would be a farce; so I thought well, lets work with this.  What images do I have that would lend themselves toward a nightclub atmosphere?  Then, how can I work them into the space so that it still feels like that kind of atmosphere?  It was just as much about the people coming to see the work, as it was the work itself.  So, for me, just the whole event was the show; it wasn’t just the work on the wall.  That went over really well.  I asked the woman that was in charge there, I said, “If you like the way I light the place, would you consider leaving the lights that way for the duration of the evening?” 

She said. “Yeah, well, yeah, we could consider it.”  Originally she had said, you know, “You can light it how you want, but then we’re going to turn our lights on at such an such time.”  Well, it went over so well and she liked it so well they left it that way.  We had that place packed by eight thirty; and it’s a club that doesn’t start getting busy until twelve thirty, one o’clock in the morning cause they stay open until three or four.  So, it was cool.  That was probably one of the most fun ones that I had. 

 I had a show in a little restaurant off of Oak Street, right off the Michigan Avenue, called Pane Caldo Oats, a little Italian restaurant.  That was one of my first shows that I had when I was in Chicago.  Other shows have been at Lincoln Park Family Physicians and the Boulavard Café.   I don’t have any other shows planned at this time; I just plan on getting this new [studio] space done. 

Some of the best things [about my job are] it’s what I love to do.  The worst thing about it is it can be tough to make a living doing it.  It’s a very competitive field.  When you start doing larger things, it’s pretty expensive; actually, it’s just expensive to pay for the film and the processing and the help that you might hire to complete a job.  A lot of these people don’t have large budgets like that.  So it makes it more difficult to actually do something ‘cause you’ve got to find people with money just to pay for the materials to do the job.  Where as a graphic designer, once they have a computer there’s really no hard cost.  So it’s easier for them to do something for somebody and still be able to make a little bit of money.  It was real hard for me to do anything to make that first step. 

Being in business for yourself is great because you have control over when you’re going to take off, what jobs you’re going to take, and you have a lot more control.  At the same time, you have a lot more responsibility.  Unfortunately, a very small percentage of the time I spend in my profession is taking pictures.  The key for me is to try and slowly weed out, or delegate out the other jobs to other people and make it so I’m shooting more and more.

You can do whatever you want to do if you put your mind to it.  You can do it without having any money, also.  You just have to have the strong will to do something, and the passion for it.  Also, you have to just keep your eyes open for any opportunity that presents itself in front of you.  If you think that you know exactly where you want to go, and if you think there’s a specific way you’ve been told that you need to get there, don’t be all caught up in thinking that’s the only way to get there.  If that’s the case, it might actually keep you from getting there.  Keep your eyes open and know that just because somebody tells you these are the steps you need to take to become a photographer, or a musician, or whatever your profession might be, don’t lock into thinking that that’s the only way to get there.  There’s all different paths to take, and some are shorter and some are longer and some people have to work a lot harder and go through a lot more to become what they want.  Other people get lucky and they can do things overnight, so to speak.  So, just keep your mind open, and be open to taking different paths to get to where you want to go.

What comes around goes around, I’ve learned that.  Don’t burn any bridges.  As soon as you burn a bridge thinking that you’ll never see that person again, there’s somebody who’s in charge of giving you that million dollar job or whatever it may be. 

Don’t be afraid of doing something; and make sure you realize a lot of times people will make up excuses as to why they’re not doing something. It’s because they don’t have something that they need in order to accomplish what they want to accomplish.  They always talk about how, “Once I get this, then I’m going to do this.”  I think a lot of times a person is procrastinating because they’re really just not ready to do it.  So the bottom line is look around yourself.  Look at what you have and figure out how you can accomplish what it is that you want with what you have. 

I love the slogan Nike has, “Just Do It.”  I mean, there’s a lot to be said for that.  [The reason] why that campaign is so successful is because if a lot of people would just follow that, they would be doing a lot of great things. 

 

This oral history was researched and prepared by Tara Fleck, Spring 2002.