Dairy Deluxe

by Kris Rasmusson

Title

Dairy Deluxe

Artist

Kris Rasmusson

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

I lived in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham Michigan for about ten years. Birmingham is known for its beautiful homes and upscale shopping. I lived on the south side of town, just a couple blocks from the Royal Oak border, in a neighborhood that some called the ‘Slums of Birmingham’. Although a middle class neighborhood it was, by Birmingham standards, a slum. Just east of my Smith Street home, on Woodward Avenue, was a humble ice cream shop that blended in well in the austere community.

At Dairy Deluxe one can saunter up to the walk-up window and take away a tasty treat in less than two minutes! Tables, chairs, roofs, and walls are not to be found in this ice cream shop that’s open twelve months a year. It’s Michigan out-of-doors. It’s cash and carry. On the tundra of the 43rd parallel this business model for an ice cream shop is great for the five months in and around the Summer solstice. But standing unprotected at a walk-up window in January and ordering ice cream is an experience I didn’t choose. But Dairy Deluxe has loyal customers who would brave a Michigan blizzard to buy their famous Pumpkin Pie and Cupcake Blizzard.

Capturing the frozen yummy madness on color film I decided to present the image via selective colorization. At Photoshop I optimized the scanned negative by using the Polygon Lasso tool to grab the iconic ice cream cone that boldly perches atop their twenty foot light pole. Inverting the lassoed selection I then desaturated all the color except that of the iconic ice cream cone to show Dairy Deluxe in all her glory. Can I take your order?

Uploaded

December 25th, 2013

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