I’m pleased to join the ranks with 52 Selects, a new online gallery showcasing the work of photojournalists and offering prints for sale. My current offerings include the image above, an interior of the Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale Mississippi made on assignment shooting an editorial travel story on the Blues Highway for the New York Times Magazine a while back.

The Riverside is a legendary location having hosted many blues legends, such as Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk and Ike Turner. The hotel was originally a hospital serving Clarksdale’s African American population where after being severely injured in car crash and refused treatment at an all white hospital, Bessie Smith died in the room shown in the picture above. While there I also made this portrait of current owner and operator Frank “Rat” Ratliff, below.

Friday’s entry in NPR’s series on color photography reminded me of cool story I was a part of. In 1985 I was hired to assist Joel Meyerowitz on a Sunday afternoon as he scouted locations for an ad shoot. When I picked him up at his hotel he told me he really just wanted to go to the Amon Carter Museum in Ft. Worth to see Avedon’s recently debuted “In the American West” exhibition.

While walking through the exhibit I looked on as a young man was setting up to take a picture of his young daughter in front of one the photographs. Almost immediately a security guard appeared, telling the young man photography was not allowed. I recognized the man as John Harrison, the subject of the photograph along with his daughter, an infant when Avedon had made the image and now appearing to be about 6.

John Harrison, lumber salesman, and his daughter Melissa, Lewisvile Texas, 11/22/81 by Richard Avedon

I quickly grabbed Joel’s attention, who asked if he might take the man’s picture, explaining he was friends with Dick Avedon and he would send Mr. Harrison the picture as well as give one to Avedon. The guard agreed as long as there was no flash, which Joel’s Leica was easily capable of doing.

So I looked on as Joel made a dozen or so exposures of Mr Harrison and his daughter smiling in front of the large mounted Avedon print.

Mr Harrison was genuinely grateful and seemed only to want a picture of his daughter and himself, no doubt unable to afford one of Avedon’s prints and seemingly oblivious to the fact that the two photographers he had been photographed by were Richard Avedon and Joel Meyerowitz.

I love the winter Olympics. Growing up in the deep south these sports seemed so otherworldly to me. I used to ride my skateboard down steep hills, (steep hills being relative in the Arkansas Delta), pretending I was Jean Claude Killy, the three time gold medal winner from France.

In 1980 I was living in Rochester NY, working on my first book project, not yet having entered the professional photo world. My friend Sandy arranged lodging and found tickets to 4 events at the Lake Placid Olympics and it remains one of the most exciting things I’ve ever attended. I witnessed Eric Heiden win his first of five gold medals in Speed Skating.

When I told my kids I had been to an Olympics I wasn’t sure they believed me so I dug out these old photographs. As a spectator I had no special access and made these pictures with a small Canon G-III rangefinder.

Luge

Eric Heiden, Speed Skating

Women’s Luge

Eric Heiden

Women’s Downhill

When asked what I like about my work the first thing I think of is the cast of characters I meet. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of photographing people of many many walks of life, politicians, tycoons, murderers, atheletes, junkies, movie stars, etc., but none have the chutzpah of Stu Rasmussen. Elected Mayor of Silverton Oregon last year Stu became the first transgendered Mayor of an American town. I spent a couple days in Silverton hanging out with Stu and what I found remarkable was after only a few minutes, minutes in which Stu quickly disarms and charms you, you no longer see him as transgendered. You just see Stu. The people of Silverton, young and old have accepted him as one of their own in ways I found hard to believe could happen in a small town.
Anyway, here’s a couple from the take I shot for People:

in the City Council Chambers, Silverton.

With his girlfriend Victoria.

Okay I admit it. I really have been calling it in and not putting forth the effort to make this worth reading. And to be honest I’ve been just a tad lost in regards to improving it.

But the thought occurred to me that perhaps I could spice things up by telling a few stories about some of the more, ahem, interesting shoots I’ve been fortunate to be assigned over the years. I mean this IS a glamour profession after all.

So why not start at the beginning. Way back in 1985, I was living in Dallas Texas trying to get started working as a magazine photographer. I went down to Austin and met with Fred Woodward at Texas Monthly and showed what no doubt was the thoroughly forgettable portfolio I had at the time. He didn’t have much to say about it but on leaving I gave him a copy of a small self published book I had produced a few years prior, called Atget’s Gardens. The book consisted of pictures I had made at Versailles one afternoon under the influence of cheap red wine and the notion I was walking in Atget’s footsteps. Here’s a couple sample pictures:

Well what do you know but Fred really liked the little book and damned if he didn’t call me for an assignment a couple weeks later. My first big time magazine assignment. And for a heavy weight art director as well.

The assignment was to photograph the car pound. The place your car goes when it gets towed. I shot 22 rolls of tri-x (that’s black and white film for any youngens that might be reading). Here’s the image that was published:

After that it was off to the races. My next gig was shooting the dog catcher:

Over the next 4 years I shot a number of assignments for Texas Monthly for Fred, Nancy McMillan, Kathy Marcus and DJ Stout. I can’t begin to tell you how fortunate I was to land those first gigs, as they opened doors for me in NY and elsewhere down the road. But the first was still the best. Thanks again Fred.

BTW, I still have copies of Atget’s Gardens for sale. 5 bucks.