A Book Cover Matters

When I started my new Whistle Stop Series I wanted to honor my hometown and also utilize talent we have in the area. That is when I called on photographer Dave Paal, Jr. I have been a fan of his photography for many years and I wanted to use his photos when I designed my cover. He said yes and so the cover for #ASmallTownCan Be #Murder was born.

Dave Paal, Jr grew up in my hometown of Wells in Southern Minnesota. He began taking photographs when he was young with his Kodak 110 or with a video camera that recorded VCR tapes.

He laughed when he told me about his visit to Old Faithful and his love with the camera. He said, “I took an entire roll of film.” It was evident the joy he found even as a youth capturing the beauty of nature.

When his son was born he continued taking pictures and video’s along with capturing slow motion basketball games. “I was always being told to shut the camera off at Christmas time because I loved taking pictures. His son has also developed a love of photography.

In 2006 he started to take his hobby seriously. He uses his iPhone for his pictures which may surprise many people. When asked what he looks for when taking a picture he said, “A good angle. Something in the foreground. I try to make everything flow to one. I take more bad pictures than I do good ones. It’s interesting that the photos I think are bad usually are ones people love.”

If you watch any of the local news channels on any given day you might see one of Dave’s pictures being singled out. He hopes to have a website in the future and possibly offer prints of some of his best work,

You can find him on Facebook at Dp Photography.

Car Show Main Street Wells August 2019