Anyone that knows me knows I shoot EVERYTHING...ALL THE TIME. I've been that way since college. Now, more than ever, that freedom of expression is being threatened by general paranoia. I can't imagine Robert Franck could have made his "America" photos now. I went to the Tucson rodeo as I have in the past and this time in line to buy my ticket, the mother of the family in front of me turned on me and said "you better not be taking photos of my daughter!"
I bought my ticket and went below the bleachers to the walk- way where the concession stands were and sat down on a bench. The crowd of walkers was back lit and easy to shoot. After a half an hour of shooting a middle age woman sat down next to me and said "why are you taking photos of children without there permission".
huh. I told her I was photographing everyone...not children. I told her it was a public event and I had every right to take photos. She insisted I was taking photos of children. To shut her up I showed her the last dozen photos in my digital camera. She kept going till I told her I had shot the rodeo for the Tucson Weekly in the past. Turns out she never heard of Tucson Weekly, mostly because she wasnt from Tucson. After a while a mother came and stopped to my left and I asked if I could shoot her son and she said sure.
Finally the unpleasant woman to my right left. wow but I dont think robert Frank could have done his fine photos of America TODAY. Damn!
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I bought my ticket and went below the bleachers to the walk- way where the concession stands were and sat down on a bench. The crowd of walkers was back lit and easy to shoot. After a half an hour of shooting a middle age woman sat down next to me and said "why are you taking photos of children without there permission".
huh. I told her I was photographing everyone...not children. I told her it was a public event and I had every right to take photos. She insisted I was taking photos of children. To shut her up I showed her the last dozen photos in my digital camera. She kept going till I told her I had shot the rodeo for the Tucson Weekly in the past. Turns out she never heard of Tucson Weekly, mostly because she wasnt from Tucson. After a while a mother came and stopped to my left and I asked if I could shoot her son and she said sure.
Finally the unpleasant woman to my right left. wow but I dont think robert Frank could have done his fine photos of America TODAY. Damn!
On my way to the rodeo I ran into my friend and model Emily and I told her I wanted to do a shot in the Rillito wash in sunset and she agreed to meet me at Swan and the River and did a few spectacular shots.
there's a woman named Margo that has a party twice a year and everyone goes to it. One sits in the backyard and plays catch up with friends and new friends. I met Dave Sayre, his girlfriend and then his son. Dave is a former teacher and artist whose moving to Japan tuesday. I took some shots of him and his son and he wanted them to take with him so I went over to his Toole studio and swapped art books for jpegs.
note the starry night between the dad and his (fakery) grimacing son.
On a sad note the (f....) soulless home association cut down my mesquite tree next to my house because the villian said it might fall on my house. (Yeah, right, but I'd be dead before it fell)
the majestic shadow of the mesquite b4 it waas cut down.