Gone to the dogs

“Bulldog Blues” is a farcical and fictional romp about a crazy Pulitzer prize-winning photographer, Dennis Wright, set in contemporary Detroit. Dennis, who is in the twilight of his career as photographer for a daily newspaper, is not only fighting some of his own demons, he’s also locked in a fierce battle against a wayward newspaper industry.

Olds, 61, has been a professional photographer for more than 40 years. So when it comes to photography, he’s pretty much seen and done it all — like using a little plastic Kodak camera to shoot his first “assignment” when he was 8 years old.

“I shot photos of my twin brother giving our pet dog a bath,” Olds said. “I treated it like a fashion shoot and shot a roll of film. My mom wasn’t happy I shot a whole roll of film.”

After studying sculpture high school, he enrolled at Lansing Community College, where he took a photo class that changed his life’s trajectory.

“I was seduced by the darkroom,” Olds said. “The alchemy of photo chemistry was like giving birth.”

While at LCC, he worked for the campus newspaper, the Lookout, as photo editor with his twin as chief photographer.

“At that time photography required a skill set that is all gone now. All you need now is a cell phone,” he said in a non-complimentary way.

After LCC, he moved on to Michigan State University and The State News and then, after a short stop at Arizona State University, he pulled up his stakes and moved to Wales where he trained with British photo historian Bill Jay.

“(Jay) turned me on to the image as a communication tool,” Olds said.

His next stop was at United Press International, where he worked from 1982 to 1988. At its peak, UPI provided newswires, photos and film to over 6,000 media subscribers.

“That was when news mattered and we covered big stories,” Olds said. “It was both the most challenging and demanding job I ever had. It was vigorous.”

Olds went on to work for the Lansing State Journal and The State News before landing a job as Director of Photography for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2002.

It was when he was laid off from this job in 2009, Olds said, that the idea to write a book came to him. Using his experiences and loosely basing his crazy character on a reallife photographer he worked with, his book, “Bulldog Blues,” began to take shape. He said he also took inspiration from two Florida writers, Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey, both former newsmen, who rely on crazy outsiders as their chief protagonists. Olds said all of the fictional photographic assignments he describes in the book are based on assignments he actually covered as a news photographer. He makes one minor exception: “I didn’t wear a tuxedo to cover a football game.”

But there are several things in his book that aren’t autobiographical, Olds said, including the bulldog, Churchill.

“Everybody asks me if I have a bulldog,” he said. “I don’t have a dog. I’m a cat person.”

Olds pulled from his own fantasy world to invent a second career for his protagonist. When Dennis wants his editor to know how he feels about his job, he makes the point by sending his editor a photo of dog dung. As you might imagine, this does not go over well and gets Dennis suspended.

In one of the books many strange twists, Dennis’ photos of poop become immensely popular and profitable. He becomes an instant celebrity in the world of avant-garde art, and celebrities send him their dog’s droppings to photograph.

Olds’ next book will see Wright move to Lansing and will focus on a corrupt Michigan governor vaguely modeled on a recent Michigan governor. He also will incorporate some of the shenanigans of the old Capitol Press Corps, which at one time had a major presence in Lansing.

“I might offend some people,” he said.

“Bulldog Blues” is a great romp for anyone who’s ever put a camera to their eye. It has detailed, geeky descriptions of how to set up photo shoots and the appropriate equipment to use. And yes, there is even some nude photography involving an unusual dominatrix living upstairs from Dennis.

Olds has a Kickstarter campaign going to raise $3,200 to pay for editing of his new book, “Dog and Pony Blues,” which, like his first, will be self-published. The online fundraising campaign ends Thursday. To donate to the campaign or learn more, go to: davidoldsbooks.com.