3rd Eye Tattoo & Recording: Bob-Tat, Emily, and Some Guy with a Camera

     In the fall semester of 2014, I began a photography course entitled 'Documentary Photography & Advanced Darkroom Techniques'. It was in this course where I would really discover my passion for photojournalism and engaging storytelling through photography. Over the course of approximately 13 weeks, I shot 10 rolls of black and white film, processed each roll, and developed a photo story which profiled two men within the Chattanooga Gay/Christian Community. (click here to see that photo story) The whole process tore down my expectations of photography and expanded my understanding of it as an art form. 

     Recently, I have been able to find inspiration in the work of some of my favorite photojournalist and documentary photographers. More notably, Jared Polin (AKA FroKnowsPhoto) has produced quite a few photo stories as a way of teaching and showcasing specific products to other photographers, which he calls "5 minute portraits". These photo stories have directly inspired me to go out and find a person or business that I believe has a unique story that deserves to be told and told well. This story is only the beginning of many more stories to come. Stories that might not otherwise be heard.  

     When I reached out to Bob-Tat at 3rd Eye Tattoo & Recording I was unsure of his reaction to this kind of proposition. After one phone call, he agreed to meet with me and see what I was all about. I sat down with him and explained my ideas, asked some personal and professional questions and tried to get a sense of who he was and how I could best tell his story. After hearing me out, Bob-Tat was wiling to allow me to come during some of his tattooing sessions. (For this installation, I wanted to focus solely on the tattoo side of his shop. Recording will be in our next installment)

     Bob-Tat is a man with nine years of working experience tattooing people for a living. An artist through and through, his shop is covered from floor to ceiling with art. From Salvador Dali to a lot of personal work, Bob is practiced and studied, a man who does not take his work lightly. When you arrive at 3rd Eye Tattoo, you are greeted with a near overwhelming sight of incredible art and a portfolio of work from every style imaginable. I went to the shop around 12 noon, bringing my camera, lenses, and lighting equipment. [Full gallery is available at bottom of page]

     Emily, a young woman in her early twenties, was in the shop when I arrived that afternoon. She was planning the latest addition to the art on her back, a similar but not identical plant with flower, derived from a set of 19th century botanical sketches. Emily has had much work done by Bob-Tat including, an image of a brain underscored by a quote on her center back, the intentional sketching of a haggard face on her right side, a crouching figure on her upper abdomen, and more. She had been there two days prior to get the other flora tattooed and was relieved to be getting the last half of the work completed.

     Much can be said about the care Bob-Tat takes of his clients, mainly that he is careful and precise.  Like a doctor preparing for surgery, Bob-Tat approaches each step systematically and methodically, ensuring cleanliness and safety with the added bonus of his clients being more at ease after seeing his practiced proficiency. A true professional. In this instance, Bob-Tat took time to make sure Emily was comfortable with her design, asked her if she felt like she wanted to make any changes and even suggested an adaptation to the design that made the art on her shoulders appear more even. 

     When she was satisfied with the design, Emily laid down on the freshly cleaned chair and allowed Bob-Tat to work, and as he did, the blue outline of the design came to life as he bonded ink with her skin. The work was steady, and strangely soothing to observe. Neither of them spoke for what must have been almost an hour. All that could be heard was the music that seemed to fuel Bob-Tat and the steady drone of the needle that seemed to fill the space with purpose. 

     After they were finished, Emily finally spoke to express her happiness with the piece as she inspected it in the shop's full sized mirror. As with any tattoo (and if you don't have any tattoos you might not have know this) Emily's was tender and raw. Bob-Tat gently cleaned and covered the soft tissue, reminding her to take care of the freshly tattooed skin and that some point in the future she should come in if a touch-up was necessary. Emily paid and thanked Bob-Tat very much for his time and skill. She then left, promising to come back once her tender shoulder had healed. Bob-Tat cleared what was left of his inks disposed of any remaining trash. I left the shop shortly after that. 

     It is worth noting that there is a strange connection between someone who commissioned a tattoo and their tattoo artist. Having a tattoo means carrying with you forever the art of someone else. A tattoo is something that took time and effort, and even if there is primary meaning outside of the art, there is still a space in which one person intentionally changed another persons physical appearance. 

   I have the utmost respect for tattoo artists. I cannot imagine a more challenging canvas to express your art form onto. Bob-Tat is a man that works hard doing what he loves and I look forward to getting to see even more depth to his story already laid out in front of me.

     No one can be completely known by their photo; but if the photo is only a window, know that there is so much more to be seen when people of equal uniqueness and complexity are listened to and there stories are told. 

3rd Eye Tattoo & Recording:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3rdeyeTattooShop/

Bob-Tat: https://www.facebook.com/3rdeyetattoo

Website: http://www.3rdeyetattooshop.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3rdeyetat2/