Thursday, August 04, 2011

Mamiya RB-67 Pro SD, 50mm, Ilford FP-4

In 2010 when Rebecca and I were riding with Mike East somewhere in La Mula in his Santa Fe Ranch, Mike, uncharacteristically talked. Talking is something that Mike keeps at an absolute minimum. He asked Rebecca, who was 12 at the time, “Do you know how to drive?” Rebecca’s negative was followed by Mike’s question, “Would you like to drive this truck?” Rebecca did just that and she drove for a long stretch for something like 30 minutes. In many ways Mike’s Toyota Tacoma has been an important element in my granddaughter’s growing up.


This year, more than ever Mike’s truck seemed to signal a drastic change. This year Rebecca did not accompany us on our work trips to La Mula with El Borrado in the back seat. She was too busy until early hours of the morning with her iTouch and facebook. Rarely did she get up before 10:30. By then we were long gone.

When I suggested to Rebecca that she might want to pose again with Mike’s truck in a repeat of last year’s shot she was willing. But I got a bit more than I bargained for. When I took an iPhone snap to show here what I was going to do with my Mamiya RB-67 she said, “I look just like Daisy Duke." I told her she reminded me of another Daisy, of a younger version of Daisy Mae Yokum (née Scragg) from Li’l Abner. When Rebecca asked me who Li’l Abner was I stopped my association right there.

Mamiya RB-67 Pro SD, 250mm, Ilford FP-4

I showed Rebecca’s mother the picture of her daughter inside Mike’s truck. It was in colour and she frowned at the sexual connotations that were perhaps implied. The iPhone picture did not show Mike’s gun as the phone’s lens is not as wide as that of my Mamiya’s 50mm. The picture in the cab is exactly as we found Mike’s truck except that I brought from the back his lasso. The gun is the one Mike has for emergencies involving the frequent confrontations with rattlesnakes in the bush.

For me these pictures are of portraits of a girl 13 about to be 14 who is adrift in a terrible world full of icons, role models (good and bad) and her confusion is channeled with in this case of a role model Daisy Duke who in the long run may be a better one than the Daisy Mae she does not know anything about.





Mamiya RB-67 Pro SD, 90mm , Ilford FP-4