Ozark Profile : Moore shows scenes of Fayetteville area in a different light
Posted on Monday, July 14, 2008
Steve Moore fiddles with and grips his coffee cup while sitting at Arsaga's.
He's a quiet man for the most part. His voice is not loud, and he doesn't speak until there's something worth speaking about. Sitting next to him is his silent partner. The Canon 20 D rests on a tripod, supported by a homemade wooden swivel, something Moore designed himself.
The camera is how Moore makes a living; he quit his life of cabinetmaking to become a professional photographer. It's also what he uses to express his passion, the city of Fayetteville. But most of all, the camera lens is what he uses to see the world in a different light, a wider, more vibrant, unique one at that.
"I personally have an appreciation for things that have aged," Moore said. "It always tears a little bit at me when I see a piece of Fayetteville eradicated that has always been in the landscape of those of us who have lived here a long time."
He's one of the people who has lived in Fayetteville for a long time, since 1970 to be exact.
Born and raised in Farmington, Va., he started experimenting with photography during high school.
"I did get a hold of a camera when I was a kid and a little development outfit," he said. "It kind of blew me away. I became a devotee."
Moore said his college experiment didn't work out and he decided to join the U. S. Army so he could choose what he wanted to do instead of getting drafted.
"It was at peacetime between Korea and Vietnam," he said.
He found himself spending four years stationed in Hawaii. He grinned and said the experience was "rough."
Moore zipped through the chronology, downplaying the importance of his time in the Army and the time he spent in San Francisco and New Mexico, where he learned the trade of cabinet and furniture making. He said he got married and had five daughters. He raced the story to the point where he made it to the Natural State.
"I was on my way to Nova Scotia to learn how to make wooden boats when we stopped in Eureka Springs for a while," Moore said.
Eventually the money ran out in Eureka Springs, and Moore said he needed to find a job and a place for his family to live. Friends pointed him to Fayetteville, explaining to him that the college town had plenty of jobs and homes.
"So I became a Fayettevil lian," he said.
He set up shop as a cabinetmaker, a trade he carried for more than 35 years. It wasn't until a year and a half ago that Moore decided to go back to his photography passion. He said he was really tired of woodworking so he became a full-time photographer. He began working with different techniques, messing around with digital photography and using his computer instead of film and a darkroom.
"I loved (darkrooms ) as long as they lasted, but it was complicated and difficult to set up," Moore said.
Fellow photographer Andrew Kilgore said he has known Moore for about 35 years and remembers that Moore fully embraced the digital camera era when he switched to photography full time.
"He's something of an expert in the area," Kilgore said. "I go to him for advice a lot."
Moore said while he was getting back into photography he began "feeling around"for some direction. He didn't want to be a snapshooter; he wanted to come up with really neat pictures. After putting some thought into it, he realized he was interested in the changes that had been going on in Fayetteville.
"I thought it'd be fun to document it, also with the idea in mind of selling prints to finance this whole endeavor," he said.
Thus the Fayetteville Pan oramic Project was born. Moore uses his camera to take dynamic photos that bring light to shadows, reduce glare from bright areas but still show details that a human eye normally picks up. He said the panoramic photos use three exposure settings: one normal exposure, one overexposed and one underexposed.
"They're subsequently stitched together in a (computer ) program to create a panoramic," Moore said.
The photos can be viewed at his Web site, www. smoorephotos. com.
Moore can be seen anywhere in town: Razorback football games, the Fayetteville Farmers'Market on the Square, the Mill District, and current building projects such as The Lofts at Underwood Plaza.
"I think some of the major projects that are being built are really quite handsome," he said.
Aside from taking photos and building furniture, he said, being a single dad has been one of the biggest factors in his life.
"I've been a parent for a long, long, long time," he said with a laugh.
Moore's daughter, Sarah Bossana, who's now a graphic designer in Florida, said Moore is a great dad raising her and her sisters.
"I started into photography, and he started encouraging me," Bossana said. "He's always had a camera."
Kilgore said Moore's dedication to his children is evident and it shows who Moore is as a person.
"He's quiet, introverted, from my perspective," Kilgore said. "He's devoted to raising his daughters. He's had a lot of ups and downs in his life, and I just really value him as a friend."
Cary Arsaga met Moore when Moore installed the cabinets at two Arsaga's Cafes and its location in the Fayetteville Public Library.
"It was always over the top, more than I expected," Arsaga said. "He's a very thorough person, goodhearted. I think good-hearted is a very good quality."
Sitting with Moore in the coffee shop never got boring. He explained the technique he uses to snap the unique photos he sells. Excitement got him off the stool, and he twisted his head to show how his swivel works and helps. Then, with a quick, nonchalant phrase, he summed up everything about himself.
"I could go on and on about this stuff, but I'd rather just let my photos speak for themselves," he said.
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