The Swissmen.

In looking at some "Chola" pictures with my roommate and a friend, both of mexican heritage and both from very closeneighborhoods in San Diego, I thought about a classic Robert Frank image, sort of.... The image is of a young family on "a sunday outing" Both key phrases I rememebered, and searched for on the internet. Nothing. After a little while I rememebered that although it's an image that I think has been very informed by Robert, it's actually a photograph taken by Diane Arbus. Duh John.

Diane Arbus, A young Brooklyn Family going for a Sunday outing, N.Y.C. 1966

In my looking for the image however, I stumbled aross some images of the contact sheets for a few pages of Mr. Franks reels. Namely, the one below I found exciting, interesting, and relieving. The sheet shows not only that he must have shot lots, with many non-plus images (The importance of editing ones-self) But that his images are also not the most amazingly exposed. I'm trying to do some research into this to be certain, but I would assume, given the period of this work, that he printed the images himself. Possibly not, but most likely. So it further illustrates the importance of being one with the darkroom and knowing your craft. The most oft seen image on the cover of "The Americans" is the circled image, of the people on the trolley. And you know what? It's kinda blown out! There must have been some serious burning, with serious filters to get that thing as pristine as it is in it's presentation. I can't even begin to think of how many prints there must have been until the "One." I guess the long and short of it was that it was nice to A: find the actual photograph I was looking for, and b: run into a bit of a humbling piece of working process from someone so esteemed whom I hold in high artistic regard.



Keep on shooting?