Black and White #1 or #2 or #3 or #4

"1920 Barber" City Barber Shop Odessa, Texas

"1947 Cash Register" City Barber Shop Odessa, Texas

Today is two firsts. First, you have Four choices. (See another pair below.) And second, this is the first pictures shot fresh for the Have Camera Will Shoot experiment, taken just six hours ago.

I was out on a photo safari this afternoon, having a glorious time trying to find some shots to fulfill your suggestions, when I drive by this old timey barber shop. I can see the barber sitting in his chair, afternoon sun shining on him. He's staring at the traffic out his door. I turn my truck around, impulsively deciding I would love to take that picture even if I have to get my nerve up to ask.

I walk in and make a joke about maybe I needed a haircut. (I'm a girl, so that's a bit funny.) The place is empty except the barber in the barber chair and a guy in the waiting chairs, reading a newspaper, who looks like he's a fixture there. The barber can see my camera in my hands and eyes me suspiciously. I jump right in, "Sir, I'd like to take your picture. May I?"

"No." Then the pause and a few seconds later, "Why?"

I explain that there are not many old fashioned barber shops like his around any more. Soon they will all be gone. I'd like to take a picture to preserve it.

"Well, I don't want no publicity. I don't want to be famous." I assure him that my photo will not make him famous. I explain that I like pictures for their sake, for the Art of them, and think him sitting in his barber chair with the sinks, mirrors, and scissors behind him would make a wonderful photo.

"Oh, you can't take a picture of all this mess. But let me think about it a minute."

I tell him it won't look messy in the picture, but if he'd prefer I not take a picture of it, I won't. I swing around and suggest a different angle. I recount to him virtues of the other side of the room. I put my hand up to frame the shot like some movie director. I tell him that the waiting chairs, TV, and calendars would make a nice shot behind him. He begins straightening up a little. He removes his coat.

"Can't take a proper picture with my coat on."

He tells me he came to Odessa in 1943. He was 23 years old and was Odessa's youngest barber. Now he'll be 88 in May. But he's not the oldest barber in town still in business. He's the second oldest and he tells me where the other one is and that the oldest barber was just recently in the newspaper. I ask him how does it look for the other barber. Does he think he'll be the oldest soon? He laughs and tells me he's pretty sure he'll outlive the other one, so yes, he'd be the oldest barber then. He's definitely warming up to me.

We talk about some old history I know about. I ask about the famous (infamous) sheriff we had here for a while, Slim Gabriel. Oh sure, he cut Slim's and all the deputies' hair back in the day. I notice his cash register and he tells me that it is the original 1947 register used when the first "City Barber Shop" opened. I ask him if it still works. He assures me it does and opens it. There is only silver change in it.

"Not had much business today?" I ask him. He tells me no. Not one customer. But of course, he says, he didn't open shop until 2 today. It's now 4. And there are no customers now either. The guy reading the newspaper is his friend who keeps him company since he's become a widower. The other guy nods and asks me my name. That's all he ever says.

The barber and I chat about his life. I like listening to old stories. He tells me he's old enough now that he's lived a long time in a lot of places. We laugh about that.

So as you can see, he agreed to let me take his picture. You all must promise, though, not to rush over there and ask him for a haircut. He has a few regulars and that's all he wants. And, like he said before, he sure doesn't want to be famous. As it turns out, he did get one customer afterall, a regular, who needed a haircut and by the looks of the customer's age and his missing shirt button, he is likely a widower too. When he came in -- a real, regular customer -- I took my leave and told Mr. S. I would be back. (I call him Mr. S. here because I don't want to make him famous.)

Today's subject, "Black and White" is courtesy of Rima, of MaraZine Galleries. Rima and I go way back. Way back in blogger years, that is. We go back to I think it was March of last year. She has seen all my pictures and remembered (in detail!) some I did in black and white, and wanted me to do some more. Rima is an artist -- although she can be modest about it -- and she is a huge encourager to other artists. I don't think I'd be here blogging to you like this if I hadn't met Rima. (And her sister Neda and her husband Fawzan. No links for them right now. Today's post is for Rima.)

"1926 My Brother and Me" City Barber Shop Odessa, Texas

"1938 Big Lake High School annual, The Owls" City Barber Shop Odessa, Texas

Photo info --
I didn't do any cropping. But, as normal, I used Photoshop 5.5 to reduce their size for the blog, and did one 50% sharpen on the reduced images. They were lovely pictures as is, but something made me think of Rima's request (they could have easily been Bev's request for Interesting People), and converted one to Grayscale. When I saw it, I decided I loved it so much I'd do the same with the others. For each I did some curve adjustments. Not a lot, but they were a bit flat without. I like the top two best. The bottom two I added, not for their photographic virtues, but for the story they tell. I think the bottom left one looks...newspaper-y? Still, I liked the man. I liked the history. I liked the pictures. I liked the afternoon in a barber shop. Another first!