Senior Portraits

Looking back, "The Senior Portrait" I had taken in "68", was something of a touch of new territory for me. My parents weren't big picture people. Granted we had the new clothes for Easter shots, Christmas, birthday pictures, and a couple of professional portraits taken growing up, but that was about it. I started my first "stash" in the fall of 1968, much to the dismay of my Mother and disdain from my Dad. It lasted a week. I transferred to SMS in the summer of "69"and started it again. It's been with me ever since with the exception of the three days it took to go to KC for my physical for the Army, but that's another story. The changes we go through as we grow up and the memories the old images bring up give meaning to the portraits of our lives.

I came across the Senior portraits of an old friend of mine that I took and I thought that I'd pass them on to my readers. This guy is one of the best Jazz drummers in the Mid West and one heck of a great guy. The memories I have, other than of him, are of the studios I took them in. The white wall and door shot was taken in my available light studio in Carthage that had been in use since the late 1800's. It originally was the first "Steward Studio" just off the square. In 1975 I bought my studio building at 340 Lyon Street. It was a great 2 story brick building that had been built in 1883. As a matter of fact Onis Hutchins used it to store his business supplies in. His daughter was a year younger than I and later married the Manager of (and now business partner ) with Graham Nash, of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Check out Nash Productions for limited edition prints and production services. Sorry about the wandering conversation but memories are memories. Anyway, the day after I bought the building at 340 I walked south and turned left, AND LOOKED UP. I grew up in Carthage, I thought I knew everything about it. To my south was the Skylight of old. The studio I had never seen, never knew of and would have killed for if I had known it was there. It was sitting silently 2 and a half stories up....I had just NEVER looked up. Bill Grey owned the building and I rented the studio from him and used it in the Spring and Fall. If it rained you were out of luck as the skylight leaked, and if it was winter you froze as there was no heat. But....when the weather would allow shooting in it...it was fabulous. Sam and the drums were taken in my studio at 340.

In my new studio here in Tulsa I am able to take full advantage of the natural light as two of my walls. East and South are floor to ceiling glass.....one story above the street.