Recent content by Art Meripol

Back in the late 90's I was photographing a story on where and what makes the borders of the South, where the South begins and ends. We explored the gnat line, the magnolia line, grits and many more physical, botanical and emotional borders. On such border was where tobacco grew. We found what...

one of the great things of years past shooting concerts was that few photographers were allowed, none in the audience with a cell phone back then. So as the artists surveyed the crowd they would often spot the camera. Staying ready for that allowed me to capture them in a way that has them...

Thank you Gianluca.

A couple old shots from my files. I noted that today is the birthday of both Johnny Cash and Fats Domino. The Fats photo is from 1982. Shot on an Olympus OM-1 I bought in 1974 and the Zuico 135mm 2.8. That is one sweet lens. Johnny Cash is from the first Farm Aid Concert in Champaign Illinois in...

really nice work. And yes! Never miss them if you can go.

Thanks Gianluca. I don't remember posting it but ... memory is not my strong point. Like many I remember the past better than yesterday . Just looked back and this one was part of a group posted in October. I think I need to keep a notepad handy to know what I'm doing.

As a young photographer and budding photojournalist I was often intimidated by other people. None more so than those that wanted to intimidate me. This shot was in 1974, early in my junior year of college. I was shooting a photo essay on the town's local farmers market on the square. 50 years...

Julian, thank you. That one photos kind of haunts me. I think it was the first time someone tried to intimidate me while shooting. I love how you described the photo and your awareness of all that was going on in the frame.

what a wonderful note! Thank you Bill. Loved your story of your Mom and Woolworths. Thank you for sharing your own story. Great reminder of how one never knows what something might mean to someone else.

I wish I could say I knew exactly what I was doing back then was intentional. Maybe it was but I doubt it. At 20 I did not have any sense of history.

Thank you Gianluca. They seem like faces you just don't see any more.

Working towards a degree in Journalism in the early 70's the J-school at my college only had one photo course. I was one of the few J-students that wanted to be a photographer instead of a working reporter or PR/adverstising maven or whatever. My junior year I discovered a photo course offered...

Thanks Pete. I think you caught something I hadn't put into words ... his reticence. Yes he definitely was tolerating me. It was only as a favor to the lady who set it up.

Thank you Ivar. I have a few more stories like this I will share. Today I had a zoom call with a class of journalism students and started with this photo from the start of my photo journey. They loved it.

Thanks Beth. That it stands on its own without the backstory means a lot. I've always believed good writing in a caption can enhance an image. But the image still should have some story-telling power without words or it isn't very successful. But then I didn't know any of that when I was...