Supermodels. He photographed supermodels including Kate Upton in zero gravity during a 2014 shoot for the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
Dream. Come. True. Right?
“The plane was called the Zero G, but the crew called it to ‘Vomit Comet,” explained Timothy O’Malley, a member of the Class of 2005 at The Linsly School. “It’s the same plane NASA uses for the astronauts, so that was an interesting experience. You realize how interesting gravity really is when you don’t have it.
“In my dorm room at Linsly, I had posters of these ladies on my walls, and then three or four years later, I am working with them one-on-one. So, this fantasy I had when I was younger became my reality,” O’Malley said. “Photography to me is about going into a situation with a unique perspective on what you’re looking at. I always try to see something that no one else is seeing. It’s either about beauty, or it’s about something weird.”
O’Malley, the son of Ann Gompers O’Malley, continued to shoot for companies like Victoria’s Secret, Revlon, Playboy, and Cover Girl, but then came Covid, a coronavirus that has been a factor in the deaths of more than 615,000 Americans including nearly 54,000 in the state of New York. More than 33,000 died in the Big Apple alone.
“When I look back at being in New York City in March 2020, it’s pretty haunting,” O’Malley described. “There was the constant noise of ambulances. I heard sirens going off all day and every day. It was so frequent, it became normal. And every morning at 5:30 p.m., everyone would open up their windows and clap for the first responders and the people who were working in the medical field. And then it would go back to the sirens.
“It was eerie, and it was great when things started settling down. New York City is now starting to get back to normal, but that was a very frightening time,” he said. “That’s why I was very happy to come here to Wheeling to work here.”
A Vision of a Friendly City
Many changes have taken place to the landscape of the city of Wheeling during the 15 years O’Malley lived in the Big Apple. The Health Plan headquarters was constructed in downtown Wheeling; the Linsly campus expanded to several other buildings; the Suspension Bridge was open to vehicular traffic; and the Ohio Valley Medical Center was operational.
Plus, there were also approximately 5,000 more people who lived within the municipality’s border.
But, while Covid-19 did make its way to Ohio County, the virus was far less intimidating in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle.
“About a year ago right when all of this Covid craziness started, I got a call from one of my best friends, Jeffrey Morris,” O’Malley said. “He told me his company, Roxby Development, had acquired the Mount Carmel Monastery, and he asked me to come to Wheeling so I could document it for him. I told him I would do that, and that’s when Covid really started hitting New York City very hard.
“I’m not sure how many people realize it, but one area that was really hit hard in New York City was Corona Queens. The area is very close to the JFK International Airport, and it’s really populated, and that is where one of the first red zones was very early one,” he explained. “But then those red zones were everywhere, so it was a really good idea to get out of there.”
The differences in the city haven’t made a difference to O’Malley.
“I think people who have grown up here and have lived here for a while may see Wheeling in a certain light. I think people who haven’t lived here that long see the area with a lot of possibilities,” O’Malley said. “There are a lot of things that are possible here, but they would be impossible in New York City because of the time and expense. But here the community has always wanted for the better.
“Now there are a lot of people working well together to help bring about something new, something positive,” he said. “After 17 years and eight moves in New York City, I feel I have done New York City, and that is why I am very excited to be a part of a group that is going to bring positive change to Wheeling.”
The Iron Is Hot
The majority of today’s Wheeling residents have never been inside Mount Carmel Monastery, or the Scottish Rite Cathedral, or the Overlook Museum, or the 12th Street Garage.
The public has had little access to the monastery, the cathedral, and the museum because of the private natures of the occupants, and the downtown garage has been closed for several years, but all of those deterrents soon will go away.
That fact, however, will change in the near future now that Roxby Development has purchased each of the properties, each of which are currently undergoing preservation and renovation projects. That means O’Malley is a very busy creative director and photographer.
“Since I arrived here, Roxby Development has continued to grow,” he explained. “There are a lot of divisions now with Roxby, and all I am trying to do is be the guy behind the scenes while offering my creative voice and the imagery to Jeffrey and his vision.
“Before Covid, I was shooting for Grey Advertising, and Grey is one of the largest advertising agencies in the entire world, and we shot everything from Pringles to Preparation H,” he added. “My three years with Grey Advertising gave me a wealth of knowledge to be able to do anything I wanted to do. But when Covid hit, I started thinking about where I wanted to be and what kind of impact I was making. That’s why I am very happy to be here in Wheeling now.”
