I bought a new 5x7 film holder yesterday. I went for a bike ride and brought the big camera along to test out the new holder and make sure it's light tight. Set the camera up in a field by the free way. After 15 or so minutes a dude came out from the bushes besides me. It wasn't very startling because it was the kinda backdrop you'd expect something like that to happen-- that's to say: it's a waste land. We talked for a while. Talked about cameras, and talked about that one cop that was murdered a few months ago... and the big funeral... and how he never saw anything like it. I couldn't tell if this guy was homeless, or just wasted, or both. He said he was a contractor-- laying down pipes, driving heavy machinery, building stuff. He told me everyone on the job-site called him "Kunta Kinte", the character from Roots. I was confused and he explained-- "that means I am a white nigger". I have no idea what he meant. At that moment I was just a little, roving bug in a field-- chancing upon some dude's ramblings-- he didn't need me in order to have a conversation, so I just stood there nodding and listening.
All this has nothing to do with the picture above...
