I know, I'm so literal, aren't I? Hey, any excuse to show you another shot from my archive, though I think this one was definitely influenced by a photo by Elliott Erwitt - the one with the soldiers marching and the black guy sticks his tongue out? - You know that one? Anyway, I reckon this shot's about 35 years old now, so many of these boys have long since been men, and probably have children of their own. The idea of documenting the past was the theme of a talk I went to last night by the renowned British photographer Daniel Meadows. He travelled around the UK in an old bus in 1973/4 and photographed 'The British' in towns and cities up and down the kingdom and then, 25 years later, re-visited some of the same places to try to find and re-photograph some of his subjects. It was a lovely talk, accompanied by some great short films and a cool rendition of 'Summer Holiday' by Cliff Richard (Don't ask!) I love the fact that by simply taking a photograph - any photograph, of anything - you're instantly capturing history. I even feel like that when I shoot a Wedding. For example, I'll take a few shots of a bride, nervously waiting at a church door, and then, whoosh, off she goes up the aisle, and that moment - yes, with its nerves - but also with its record of fashions, hair-styles, current trends - is gone, and gone forever without a photograph. Hmmm... Maybe I should go back to Eccles to try to find some of people I photographed in the seventies?
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