Joe Hilton from Music Makers, July 1967

This really isn't a "photo" of the Minolta Autocord. I put it on the glass of my scanner. It's a scan of the Autocord.


I shot this with that old Minolta Autocord that I'd picked up second hand for $39.95 back in about 1964. The list price new was $99.95 back then.

Joe worked at a record shop at Northside Shopping Center at the corner of N.W. 79th Street and 27th Avenue. I guess that he was hired on as a "porter", a stock clerk essentialy, because that's what colored boys did back then, but he knew his music and was soon the most valuable sales person in the shop.

He's the one that first got me to listen to Jimi Hendrix, convincing me that Hendrix played rock, not "black" music. Once I judged Hendrix by his sound rather than the photo on the album cover I was sold!

A well known big name photographer of the day was Philipe Halsman who shot a photo of Marilyn Monroe jumping. It appeared on the cover of Life Magazine. I started getting requests from people to photograph them mid jump. It was easiest to do this in the studio with electronic flash. Getting a high enough shutter speed to stop the action outdoors wasn't always possible unless it was a bright sunny day. Most of my jump photos were shot with my Minolta Autocord. A twelve exposure roll of 120 film was more than enough. Very few people had the energy to even make six decent jumps before taking a break. Joe had the energy! He gave me the highest jumps and the best facial expressions. The last time I saw him was maybe 1970. I started buying my records at Discount Records across 15th Avenue from the 163rd St. Shopping Center.

For several years that Autocord shot a wedding about every weekend, sometimes two! Then I got a Hasselblad and the Autocord sat on a shelf. I finally sold it. A few years ago I got another one with a bunch of old photo stuff, and then that one sat on a shelf unused.

I dusted it off. The lens is clean and the shutter speeds sound right. I just got back from Wide World Photo, four rolls of Ilford FP4 film in hand. Life is good!

When I Still Had Hair...

Cool looking hair! It reminds me of Jimi Hendrix's afro. I have to start ignoring Claudia's "You look like a damned street person!" as she dials Vivette's shop, then tells me to "go right over there now! She has time for you!"

I guess that's what happens, though, when a guy stays friendly with his ex-wife and his former girlfriend, the two of them are best friends with one another, and one of them owns a beauty salon.

Then for the next few days just about everybody who knows me (other than the two ex's), young and old, male and female (and the usual variations of those) pipes up with a "Why'd you cut your hair?" "It was looking so cool!" "It really suited your personality!" "I didn't recognize you!" "You oughta grow it back!" And the cycle starts all over again. I remind myself of Dawn's remark last year "If a guy has that much hair at your age he should flaunt it!"

Oh well, I was standing behind the city's portable stage as they were setting up for a concert. I was expecting that some of the musicians would be sporting a bit of hair, and they did. It brought back good memories of a lot of outdoor rock and jazz concerts over the years. On the down side, hair or no hair, I was unlikely to have any cute young chicks flirting with me, and with the Police Station only a couple hundred feet away I doubted that I'd be smelling the pungent odor of smoldering ganga. Damn!