Git away from that door!

[Old Timer]

Appalachia, April 1970

[poker]

This is bit "hitchcock" to me. I wish the crop wasn't so tight to at least leave some margin on the left and/or right of the house.

Thanks for sharing OT as usual. Do you have more?

[Old Timer]

Had time for only this one before the mother pulled him away from the door. Had a couple on slide film but client got all of them. I wish I had had time to back it up but I was shooting a prime lense and out a car window at the time. Lucky to get away with what I did. Thanks for the comment.

[mjs1973]

My first reaction to this image was that this is kinda creepy. I think Manacsa's "hitchcock" discription summed it up pretty well, but I still like it!

Just out of curiosity, what were you shooting this for? You said the client got the slides, so I'm wondering what the story is behind the image.

[swmdrayfan]

"Coal Miner's Daughter" keeps running thru my mind as I view this. An interesting shot Larry.
John

[Old Timer]

I was on Spring Break from college and took a weeks assignment for a federal program called, Operation Talent Search. The program identified underprivileged kids with certain gifts and gave them an opportunity to build on them. They would come to a college campus in the summer for several weeks each summer kind of like an academic/arts camp. My job was to go to their hometowns and get pictures of them and their schools. I even had a opportunity to photograph inside a one room school complete with the pot belly stove. The director also wanted some pictures of life around the area in rural Appalachia. 95% of everything I shot was slides so the program got most everything. I did carry another camera with b&w and got a few images for myself, but not nearly enough. I think I got paid around $150 plus expenses for the 5 days work. I though I had stolen the money. I was a student at the time and was working on a college work-ship for $15 a week as a photographer for the yearbook.

[mjs1973]

Thanks for filling us in Larry. That sounds like a really interesting project you got to work on. It really gives us some perspective on where this image is coming from too. I love to hear the stories behind images!!

[Chunk]

Lucky to get away with what I did.

Probably lucky to get away without being shot!

[readingr]

OT,

This gives me the creeps the length of the arm - yikes.

Looks like something from hitchcock or the twilight zone.

I wish it was a cropped a tad more so that the brick foundations where the alignement on the edge of the photo or preferably more space around the house.

Oh Mancasa already said about cropping and hitchcock.

Interesting project to work on. Where is Appalachia and why would you get shot?

Roger

[Old Timer]

Appalachia is an area of our country that at the time I took this image was noted for it's poverty level. Mostly in the mountains that separate the East coast from the Midwest or middle America. Both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson made trip here trying to bolster support for more federal programs to help the region. The program I was working for when I took this picture was one of those programs. The people of the area are very proud and in many cases resisted outside help at that time. They didn't like having outsiders come into their communities. Thankfully much of this has changed today but there continues to be poverty even in America. This image was post as much for it's documentary value as for anything else.

[Old Timer]

Probably lucky to get away without being shot!

Chunk you don't know how true that statement is. One of my guides on this trip wanted me to get pictures of coal trucks that were coming down from the mines onto the main roads and tearing them to shreads because they were so over weight. He positioned us just below a curve so that I could get the damage to the road and the truck coming around the bend. It was a great location for the shot but when I started to get out of the car and setup for the picture he instructed me to crouch down behind the door and wait for the truck to get into position before I got up to take the picture. His explanation was that the drivers might not like having their pictures taken. He then explained that we could take care of our selves though and patted the dash of the car and opened the glove box to reveal a very large revolver. I decided after the first truck that I had gotten the perfect shot and that we could move on.

[Old Timer]

"Coal Miner's Daughter" keeps running thru my mind as I view this. An interesting shot Larry.
John

Very funny you should say that John. This image was taken in Loretta's home county. Also very odd that they at the time had the most modern and upto date high school in the state. But only four miles from that school in the same school district was one of the last remaining one room school in the state housing I think 6 grades at the time.