Fort Bragg, California
Bill Pierce has told me he'd like to edit a book titled, "Hey Mister! Take My Picture!"
The content would be drawn from Pierce's vast array of photographer friends. I have far more of these than one contributor could get into the book, like, say, the picture at the bottom of this web page.
Some of the shots I could contribute would be responses to those exact words. In this case I was walking along the beach with two small cameras around my neck, making snaps of beach and ocean and rocks, hoping to clear my head to have fresh eyes for the next drive-in theater, when the young lady seen here ran up to me and asked, "are you a photographer?"
"Yes."
"Well, photograph this!"
So I did. Three frames, then I waved and hightailed it out of there. Because of this. I'd like to link to an actual Paul Stookey performance of the song. I can't find one online. It's a "talkin' blues"—spoken recitation with a pretty simple finger-pickin' guitar backup. On my weird scholarship trip around the world in 1969-70, every time we had a going-away party from the place and people we'd been with for 4-6 weeks, somewhere in the proceedings I'd borrow a guitar and do this piece, to the utter astonishment of hosts whose English was sufficient to follow it. Anyone who couldn't understand the words began pestering their friends in the audience, "what's so funny?" You have to understand that the delivery should be completely deadpan, and the guitar part sounds much harder than it actually is, which you accentuate by emphasizing the walking base.
2 comments:
I can understand why you would beat feet, love the Kingston shots, my aunt used to live there and I still go there from time to time, down near the river is very nice.
Kingston is an interesting small city. I'd like to go back a decade+ later and do some similar work in color.
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