If you think a black and white

lab is a speckled dog and not a place to develop monochrome photographs,

then you are in the same boat as me. I learned that I have a lot to learn

about the tide of studio photography in the 21st century when I visited

"Images by Rainy" in Fayetteville.

The owner of the eclectic studio,

Rainy Chastine, is not a former stripper, though her exotic name dances

easily into one's memory. Rainy is the creative force and photographer

behind the one of the most eclectic businesses I have ever run across.

At Rainy's studio, their motto

is "Don't say cheese" (it wrinkles your eyes)." They simply

take pictures, but they don't take pictures simply.

My mother-in-law took my daughter

and her other granddaughter over for a photo shoot about a week ago and

the girls had the time of their lives. They got to dress up as fairies

and had their pictures taken in a very Midsummer Night's Dream-ish setting.

The photographs turned out great and the colors were so vivid they seemed

to drip off the prints. The studio is lined with racks of such "dress

up" costumes, just as much for boys as girls, too.

One time in my life I had wanted

to become professional photographer. In my early teens I wanted to shoot

for Sports Illustrated, and in my late teens I thought Playboy might have

a need for photographers. I wanted to work for Playboy, though, just so

I could give the interviews. A friend and I finally settled on landscapes

a la Ansel Adams, and we set up a darkroom and everything. It was fun

watching the pictures developing in their trays to the red light glare

of the darkroom. Look, a tree. Look, another tree. Look, two trees. It

was one more electrifying chapter in my life.

Then I learned that to make

money at photography you had to shoot weddings: Bride and groom, bride

and groom and Mom, bride and groom and Dad, bride and groom and Grandma,

bride and Mom, bride and Dad.... Well, you get the picture.

Also, the Friday and Saturday

shoots would definitely interfere with my solid life as "the guy

who waited at home just in case some girl broke up with her boyfriend

and she needed someone to talk to." And besides that, it was the

'70s. I couldn't take the powder blue tuxedos, frilly shirts and polyester

bridesmaids gowns. So I gave it up.

Things have changed in the

world of photography. Today people document milestones with a professionally-made

photograph. With her three giant studio rooms, Rainy offers a multitude

of choices from that first silhouette of baby, or naked baby boy in cowboy

boots and hat, or even a fashion-like shoot for a high school senior.

I am at the age that I am contemplating a portrait of myself, my urologist

and my first kidney stone.

I was a little intimidated

with a shudder, that Rainy specializes in "daddy-baby" photos.

This is what the world wants to see. Me, with no shirt, holding a baby

close in my arms. This would scare the moths away from my porch light.

I will say that I respect any

guy that would take one of these pictures. I am not that secure in my

manhood, or maybe I'm just embarrassed about my unsightly back hair.

I hope that didn't sound "negative."

I should "focus" on the positive to "develop" a better

attitude. And with those thoughts I will "slide" right out of

this column.

But before I go let me give

Rainy a tip. What's with all the umbrella lights and large-format camera?

You can now buy those no-focus, autoflash, throw away kind. Just trying

to help.

[Visit Billy Murphy on the

Internet at https://www.ebilly.net.]