Collegian

Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: Arts

Like famous photographer, Diane Arbus, Associate of Arts major Thomas Jaeger agrees with the statement, "My favorite place to be is anywhere I haven't been."

Jaeger, 27, is a part-time student while working part-time in a furniture warehouse. Other than hanging with friends or playing video games, most of his spare time is spent photographing nature and working on an interesting project he calls The Log Boy Project. Jaeger plans to publish a photography book consisting of multiple pictures of the log boy in various settings and seasons.

The project began while participating in a sculpture class about two years ago. The class was asked to make a figure resembling a human. Jaeger skillfully pieced together logs, screws, bolts and other miscellaneous items to make his 3-foot figure, which he calls Log Boy. Approximately six months later, after purchasing his digital camera, Jaeger said, "A light bulb went off and I began taking Log Boy with me."

Jaeger has been strategically placing Log Boy in various settings to capture amazing photographs for almost two years now. "Lugging him around is sometimes a pain, especially when the weather is bad, but it's worth it," he added.

When asked what reactions he gets from onlookers who see him carrying Log Boy, Jaeger said he generally goes to secluded places where there aren't too many people around and that most people are curious and stop him to ask what it is or what he is doing. Jaeger said, "It can sometimes be distracting for me."

While on a family vacation in North Carolina, Jaeger took Log Boy to the beach late at night. Not too long after he began photographing, police officers arrived to check on him. Apparently they were called to the location by a neighbor who thought he was practicing voodoo magic. Needless to say, when the officers saw him with his camera, tripod and Log Boy, they simply laughed about the accusations and went on their way.

"I'm hoping to finish my Log Boy book before 2010," Jaeger said, but it has taken a lot longer than he had thought. Jaeger hopes to have some sort of career in photography within the next five years.

"After high school, I took some college courses but I really wasn't ready to grow up, or at least wasn't ready to appreciate a college education," Jaeger said. He worked on construction sites full time, doing hard labor for several years. He then realized he had better get back to school and earn his degree. "Now my only obstacle is algebra," he added.

When asked how his family and friends would describe him, he replied, "hopefully not bad, but they would probably say the same as I would describe myself; a creative guy and a little shy. I'm the type who likes to keep to myself most of the time."

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