REALLY OLD STUFF

Austin, Texas 1971

A few days ago while having a discussion about Lee Friedlander, the question was put to me: I don't mean to imply that you are old, Frank. But, what was your reaction when Friedlander's work was first being shown? I answered by saying: I might be too old to remember that far back.....ya' know? ;-) Probably a bit quizzical. I became aware of Friedlander about the same time I met Winogrand, and had been heavily exposed to the FSA and WPA photographers via Russell Lee. I think I've always had an eye for the off-beat, the unusual, things observed that make me do a double-take. Not things hidden, but commonplace things so common that very few people take notice, or just do not understand the weirdly profound moment right before them. (Not to imply that I understand, but am enough aware to make a picture!) You could say that I was lucky, because I sorta' got exposed to all those post war (WW-II) photographers -- those mentioned above, and Smith, Eisenstaedt, Doisneau, Levit.....the list is long. I don't think that Friedlander struck me as all that weird, or different. Or even radical at the time. I was getting past my Ansel is God era, and beginning to look more to what was happening on the street. Up front, I am no Friedlander, nor do I pretend I'm other than myself. But you can see here from this group of images made from 1969-73, and exhibited in 1974, that all those street photographers had some effect on me. What it mostly says about me is that I've been doing this a long time, and don't really remember the first time I became aware of Friedlander. Back when I started to think more seriously about photography as a means to understand my surroundings in a visual sense, I carried a camera with me everywhere I went. And I mean everywhere. If I was turned in for the night, the camera slept beside me on the bedside table. This was back in the late '60s and early '70s, I went through the Leica M2 phase, the Nikon F phase, etc., but settled on as a "carry around" the little Canonet QL 1.9 35mm camera which sported a 40mm f/1.9 lens and an automatic exposure system. Where the lens was quite good, like all auto-exposure systems in those days, that part didn't work too well. But the camera's biggest asset was it's size -- about half the size of a Leica M2 and only half the weight, too. I see there are several of these cameras still available on eBay for around $20. Light meters probably don't work, but that is no biggie -- might have to get me one to play with. I'd have to buy some Tri-X film to go in it, however -- something I haven't done in about four years.