Arlington photographer releases ‘Simple Truths / Complicated Lies’

What started out as letters to his nine grandchildren turned out to be much more for Micheal Dwyer of Arlington. 
 
The award-winning photographer recently released, “Simple Truths / Complicated Lies” about his observations from a life well-lived. While there are light-hearted moments in the book, including meeting Shaquille O’Neal at the 2002 Rose Bowl, Dwyer shares some deeply personal moments, including his father’s suicide in 1981.
 
“About three years ago I got a journal from my daughter-in-law,” Dwyer said. “I started writing some bigger things down. I would put it down for months and then I’d pick it back up and write furiously for a couple of weeks. … I had no intention of doing much with it.” 
 
In February of 2020, Dwyer went to the doctor after not feeling well for a few weeks. After initially being told he had pancreatic cancer, he was correctly diagnosed with lymphoma. His body reacted well to the chemotherapy treatments.
 
“My battle was really easy compared (to others),” he said. “I continued to work through COVID-19 – to the degree that photographers could work – and came out on the other side of that after six months of chemo and now I could focus on the book.”
 
Dwyer disciplined himself to write for 90 minutes every morning and then edit the work later. 

“That (writing) kind of became the book,” he said. 
 
In September of 2021, Dwyer attended a writers’ retreat in Okoboji, Iowa. There he met a novelist that left a lasting impression about writing style. 
 
“After his presentation, I just turned to him and said, ‘I want what you’ve got,’” Dwyer said. “We talked for a couple of hours and I read some of his stuff. I came home and completely rewrote the book. Not really the content. I didn’t change the enchilada, but I changed all the spices and the sauces that went on it.”
 
Dwyer found an editor in Los Angeles and the book was released Feb. 10. 
 
The prologue of the book is powerful as Dwyer discusses his father’s battle with alcoholism and subsequent suicide. Micheal was the one who found his father slumped behind the wheel of a van, engine running, in a closed-in garage. 
 
 I tried to do what that author that I met up there did. That was to really put the audience on that porch that day sitting there waiting for the cops to show up knowing my dad is 30 feet away and what I thought could never happen, just happened.” 
Dwyer said he thought it was important for his family to have that passage in the book. He also believes it was beneficial for readers. 
 
“Most of the rest of the book wouldn’t fall in place as well as it did if I didn’t start with that,” he said. “This is clearly – what I believe everybody has – that landmark on the map that I made a pretty significant turn. Had dad not passed away in that way in front of me … I probably would’ve been more than happy to have stayed at Valmont and kept making pipe until I was retired living in a nice home somewhere, but that isn’t what God intended and my life would’ve been completely different. I think for the rest of the book to make sense, it was important that I started with that chapter.” 
 
Dwyer got involved in photography in 1983 and his business took off quickly. In the 1990s, however, he had another incident that changed his perspective on work forever.
 
A girl, who was a little bit mentally challenged, had an appointment for her senior pictures. It was at the end of the day and Dwyer was tired and hungry. The girl arrived late for the appointment and also forgot one of her outfits. 
 
“It was not off to a good start and Mike was crabby,” Dwyer recalls. “Everybody has been at that point sometime at work.” 
 
The two drove off to the Washington County Fairgrounds for the pictures. Dwyer got out and opened the hatchback on the car. His mind was more on dinner and getting the appointment done quickly than anything else.
 
“I grabbed the camera and as I was pulling that out to get it ready I heard this voice,” he said. “I distinctly remember hearing, ‘Micheal, don’t screw this up. This girl deserves your best.’ I know it sounds hysterical, but this was real.”
 
The light slowly improved and the girl, who had been quiet up until that point, laughed at one of Dwyer’s jokes. 
 
“She completely opened up and I saw a beautiful young girl that I never would’ve seen if I was just limping along during the last session of the day. A week later she and her mother picked up the proofs and the girl was crying (tears of joy). It was just one of those great sessions.”
 
Two weeks later, however, Dwyer received a frantic call from the girl’s mother. She couldn’t wake her up. As an EMT and a member of the rescue squad, Dwyer made the trek to the girl’s home. She had died in her sleep. While waiting for the coroner, he tried to console the mother as they looked at her senior pictures. 
 
Dwyer said that was a turning point in his career. He said he vowed never to be impatient or upset with someone while shooting photos. 
“I still kind of go to that place, but I think back to, ‘Don’t screw this up, Dwyer,’” he said. “I’ve never approached a photo the same since no matter what it is. That was the other piece for me. We were making good money and life was good … but it wasn’t until I really understood that what we were doing was important and I had that satisfaction of knowing I was doing something that was worthwhile beyond a paycheck. For the rest of my career, I could always go back to that and have some kind of solace that what I was doing was important to people.”  
 
Dwyer said the book has allowed him to look back at his life and he is grateful for many things, including his current health status. 
 
“I feel about as good as a guy who is close to retiring could feel,” he said. 
 
The book is available on Amazon and also at michealdwyer.com.