He surveyed the landscape several thousand feet below him and fired away with one of his two 70mm Hasselblad cameras. The action was familiar but the scene unique as he floated through the stifling summer sky over Russia in a hot air balloon during the Cold War. Next to him was a Russian “guide” who warned him that taking aerial photography was illegal. He ignored the “advice” of the man who may or may not have been a KGB agent and continued shooting.
It would take another year until communist control of the country would crumble. Brian Lawler was unconcerned with the uncertainty and accepted the invitation of the communist regime. He was also unconcerned about leaving the country with more than 10,000 photographs, which he had taken to satisfy his need to document anything and everything he encounters.
Leaning over the side of the wicker basket, he focused his camera down at the golden domes of orthodox churches in the small town of Suzdal. A soviet military M1-8 helicopter followed the balloons. The flight was only the second in Russian history. Despite this, none of the people on the ground looked up at them, afraid of the attention their curiosity might garner.
Brian Lawler documents things.
“I’ve always had the documentary gene,” he said. “I don’t know why, it’s a weird thing. Some people go to concerts to listen to the music. When I go to a concert I have to take pictures.”
Lawler kept a journal of his trip to Russia that he updated several times a day. He drew diagrams of how the gas delivery system worked and how he would improve it.
“I had the greatest time documenting all this bullshit,” he said.
Lawler has traveled all over the world ballooning and photographing but calls San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly home- at least for the last 40 years. He admits that he is a well-known member of the community, not surprising considering his gregarious nature.
Lawler looks like a professor with hair like Einstein’s and large glasses that give off the impression that he is a disseminator of knowledge. He often completes the look with a button-up shirt, no tie, and slacks. He wears dark tennis shoes that at first glance appear to be dress shoes but are clearly worn for comfort. As a graphic arts professor at Cal Poly, he teaches students how to document and reproduce images with skill and accuracy.
Recently he worked on a photomural for the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum. He incorporated several pictures of landmarks in San Luis Obispo, including the Fremont Theatre.
“The real story is how they paid me,” he said.
There are letter blocks on two sides of the building that spell out “San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum.” Letters are inscribed with the sponsors’ names.
“I knew that no one would pay $5,000 for the apostrophe so I asked for my name to be put on it,” he said. “I’ve always ranted about the proper use of apostrophes, so my friends find it ironic that I have my name on one. I can’t tell you how many people have noticed it… Zero!”
The Museum is looking to license out the mural to other children’s museums and Lawler is angling to be compensated by getting his name put on the apostrophe on the other side of the building ensuring an apostrophe monopoly.
Lawler also designed several exhibits at the museum for younger children. He designed computer software for a box that emits a number of lights and sounds “More or less designed for kids to giggle,” he said.
The connection that he shares with his students is evident in his lectures. He doesn’t hide behind a desk when he speaks, instead he moves up into the first row in order to be closer to his students. While talking about polarizing filters and photoconductive imaging plates he shares his work experiences. He lets them know which companies pay their employees on time and practical information about how to succeed in the field.
He has all sorts of practical knowledge for his students including his “rule of thumb,” which is, “Don’t cut your thumb!”
His enthusiasm for the technological side of graphic arts is quite clear. He rushes through the “really cool part” the way a 6 year-old describes their first visit to FAO Schwarz.
Printing was a passion for Lawler since the age of 11 when he found his grandfather’s old Chandler & Price press in his basement and with guidance from his mother began printing greeting cards and invitations to make money.
Lawler said that he struggled with school in junior high until his parents took him to the newly built graphics art building at Cal Poly in 1964. When he saw all of the state of the art printers and binders he decided right then to attend Cal Poly. The goal of coming to Cal Poly focused Lawler and gave him the incentive he needed to graduate.
In high school he bought an offset press and continued printing, working for a variety of clientele including his father’s insurance company. His father offered to leave him the company but Lawler turned him down, set on his goal to print for a living.
After his graduation the Vietnam War was the last obstacle he had to overcome before moving on to Cal Poly.
Lawler, a patriotic American, former Eagle Scout and son of a WWII veteran, believed strongly in national service but disagreed with the war. So at 17, before he was drafted, he went to the recruiting offices of the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard in order to serve his country, but stay out of the worst of the fighting.
Lawler said that his time in the Coast Guard was very important not only to his life but also to those that he helped.
“The Coast Guard’s objective was to save lives everyday,” he said.
He spent six months in the Coast Guard going up and down the Pacific Coast and then went off to Cal Poly in the winter quarter.
“After that I was basically a free man,” he said. “I just had to keep my hair real short.”
Other Cal Poly students were less fortunate. Lawler’s roommate was forced into the armed services when his GPA dropped too low.
Lawler thinks that all young people should spend two years in some kind of national service whether it is the armed services or AmeriCorps.
Lawler undertakes many different photo projects on his own. He does panoramas of exotic locations and beautiful scenery. He licenses these pictures out to businesses and individuals. Most recently he licensed a panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge to a bowling ally that will reproduce the image 100 feet in length. He relishes the opportunity to get paid for something that he would do anyway.
He has an astounding determination when it comes to getting exactly the shot that he wants. He built his own camera to take just one picture. The photo-finish camera was designed in order to take a picture of a bike race that included every racer. After the race he took the camera apart and put the pieces to different use.
“I’ll get an idea and go nuts with it for a while,” he said. “Then I move on.”
He has done a number of time-lapse projects at Cal Poly. He even started a trend by being the first person to make a time-lapse of the installation of Cal Poly’s new Heidelberg printing press, now done with the installation of every Heidelberg press. Time-lapse photography is when a stationary camera is set up and a picture is taken at a set interval. Then the photos are put in order and compress a long project into a short amount of time. His most recent time-lapse project was of the massive pipe organ that was installed in Cal Poly’s Performing Arts Center. The organ is of particular interest to Lawler. He will have an opportunity to perform with it as a member of the San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble.
Lawler joined the vocal ensemble in 1991 after making it through the auditioning process. Singing all different types of music from different world cultures keeps him young, he said. He has expanded his knowledge of music from being part of the group and readily makes connections with developments in music to the advent of the printing press.
“Printing created a catalyst for an expansion of all the arts,” he said. “I’m a history buff when it comes to technology, music adds to that part of the creative continuum.”
Some of his closest friends are fellow choir members. He has traveled the world with them. Lawler also finds singing challenging.
“Sometimes I just beat myself because it’s so hard,” he said. “You literally have to know it with your eyes closed.”
He sees his singing with the ensemble as a contribution to the community. Where he has lived since 1969. He started his San Luis Obispo typesetting, graphic design and photography business in 1972, three years before he graduated from Cal Poly. He eventually sold his business to a larger company but continued to work for them for 19 years overseeing 30 employees including his future wife.
He married Ashala on May Day 1980. He created an elegant typeface and named it “Ashala Light” for her. They have a 21 year-old son who is attending film school in San Francisco.
Brian Lawler is a man of the times, he teaches cutting edge technology and plays around with all the fanciest “gidgets and gadgets.” He is the author of the official Adobe “Print Publishing Guide” an international publication that gets printed in French and Turkish. He writes a blog for graphic arts online as well as maintaining his own Web site. Lawler’s tech savvy and local popularity has resulted in his own local Mac ad that proclaims him to be an inventor, an educator, a photographer and a singer. But, he is just doing what he likes to do and makes no big fuss about himself.
“The world has gotten more sophisticated, I’m just following it,” he said.