When I was younger, I often worried about what other people thought of me and my conduct in public. As I grew older, I began to realize that I had become a self “imposed victim of external imagery”. People that I did not know, have no prevalence in my life, therefore, why should I worry about what they think? Since I am a photographer that has a tendency to “recreate” historical events to my liking, I utilize “time travel” and “realistic props”. Since I am a frail senior on a fixed income, I often use areas around our humble hovel. I sometimes have to “model and pose” for some of my shots. Therefore, I may be attired in any number of different themed apparel. The shooting of “The Lone Legionnaire Sentry” was done on the west side of the humble hovel. Our baby son William took the initial photographs. Since there was so much distraction and junk in the background, the photo had to be cropped the original photo is color is posted alongside of the black and white “finished product”. Ok, so we are now there, shall we go farther? I went and looked into the bar refrigerator in the garage. A solitary Corona, sat on the bottom shelf singing, “I am so lonesome that I could cry”. A crying beer is illegal in all states and especially in our garage. So it was off to our local Vons Grocery store. Since this occasion was immediately declared a “garage emergency”, I took the holster off, put the belt back on and went to the store. At this point please “engage your minds eye” and read slowly. You are shopping for your evening meal after spending the day at a job that you hate but stay there for the “money’. All you want to do is get something fast for dinner and go home. After fighting all of the weirdo’s on the freeway, you now feel “almost home free”. Not yet Pilgrim, Sturkey is “loose”. As you wander up and down the aisle, almost in a Zombie state, you encounter, a six foot black man with no hair, wearing a pair of grey coveralls with a French flag on the left sleeve, a thick leather belt around his waist and a “flying bomb” pin on his chest. Would you stare? Many of the customers did, When I got to the check stand, after walking up and down every aisle in the store, the cashier calmly said “Hi Mr. Sturkey, doing another photo shoot at your house? “We want to see the photos when you are done”. That is the advantage of shopping in the same grocery store for the past twenty eighty years that it has been open. Back to the first few sentences. Had I been fifty years or less younger, I would have worried about people would think if I appeared in public dressed like that. Today I think, “got a few today and then there is always tomorrow and the day after”. “Growing older is mandatory”! “Growing up is optional”!
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 03:23:42 +0000
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