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![November 15, 2020 Full Steam Ahead Lovers for Life Steampunk photo illustrator extraordinaire Chuck Coleman reunites with The Sentinel. By Roberto Benoit There are picture takers, there are photographers and thennn….there are photo illustrators. I am mostly fascinated and amazed by the latter. I am of the most humble opinion that Charles ‘Chuck’ Coleman can only narrowly be defined as a photo illustrator because of the unseen spiritual depth and gravity that he brings to each ‘environment’ that he enters records and presents to the world. “A photograph is not just some sort of mundane external record of the subject,” he says. He continues on by saying: “A photo can decipher and possibly discern the before, after and soon to come of any subject or object, whether it be animal or human, alive or dead, animate or inanimate. How we perceive what an object, person or animal is should be based simply on its existence as opposed to what we want it to be.” Is it more difficult to increase marriages among certain women that may have chronic self-esteem issues that may be a deterrent to potential husbands or significant others to check off the commitment box? “What Vilma [Chuck’s significant other] and I try to do is not peel back the layers for them but just to facilitate their self-discovery. There are women that may encounter some negatives and they may then try to convince themselves that these issues are something positive. So, we work on the things that we feel that they are trying to hide and help to motivate them toward a more realistic assessment of themselves. Vilma and I both are in concert as to whether it is a man or woman, the less that an individual covers up before they are committed to a serious relationship may be far less damaging to the relationship if these issues are uncovered and resolved before the relationship gathers momentum. Vilma Biliene “One of my steam punk epiphanies, (and I have had a few) happened when the women that I photographed as well as myself, realized that most of them were grasping independence by the horns and were also feeling less vulnerable about being interdependent. That in itself began to be a part of the healing process that helped heal some of the wounds caused by many of the transgressions of the past. There are often times that the only true evaluation that will allow a complete metamorphosis to occur is the brutal and unforgiving process of self-evaluation. That is one of the primary reasons that I am transitioning part of my artistic acumen toward the sanctity and commitment of marriage. I realize that a few weddings may appear to focus on a few of the superficial elements and external symbols such as: how many carats is the diamond of the engagement ring and how much does the bride’s gown cost? These things are important but there was an oldies song from the not so recent past that asked the question, “will you still love me tomorrow? Sometimes just reflecting back on the wedding photos may help heal future conflict of a husband and wife.” We are approaching one year of this horrible pandemic, we should provide humanity with as much to look forward to as possible.” Chuck concludes by saying that: “my responsibility as a photographic illustrator is far more important from a humanitarian perspective than from merely capturing images that feed the “narcissism principle.” My photographic essays from weddings or any other social places will be moving ‘full steam ahead helping subjects from all walks of life, from young to old, from straight to gay from rich to poor. Our goal is to be facilitators: assisting humanity to find and maintain harmony internally and externally because when they achieve self- unification they will in turn be prepared to be committed and unified with someone else.” Read about and see the works of Chuck Coleman in; “Full Steam Ahead” in The Sentinel Notes: In September of 2016, Chuck produced the original series: ‘Opioid Dreams’ with the founder of The Sentinel Aubrey Bruce. It was an eight-part series chronicling the trials of Vilma Bieiline battling and overcoming her addiction to opioids. The series was aired broadcast on WEPA TV Pittsburgh on the COZI TV channel.](images/u7313-69.png?crc=3864317554)
