What’s better than old houses? The owners!
Photo shoots aren’t all fun and games. Sometimes the homeowners aren’t ready after all. (A room half-painted! The septic tank unexpectedly dug up!) Our photographers have been known to arrive with vacuum cleaners and mops, not just with fruit and flowers. “Once we were asked to wait for an hour on the porch, next to garbage ready for pickup, while the frantic owner got ready,” says one writer. Generally speaking, though, photo shoots come with a bonus: meeting old-house people in their natural habitat. “People ask me why I like writing articles,” says West Coast editor Dr. Brian Coleman, who has a parallel career as a practicing psychiatrist. “I tell them, it’s the homeowners. I get to meet fascinating, inspiring people.” It takes generosity to open one’s home to camera equipment. Many…
