Early Photo Launched A Distinct Course

During the late 1960's when the Peace Movement & Love Generation established a foothold upon society, I too got caught-up in the hoopla. Being a former art student and most recently a drop-out, I sought alternatives for seeking a future career. I was fortunate to be hired as a valet driver for a Life Magazine photographer and L.A. Times Journalist that were in Memphis to cover the death of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. With the money earned for my valet services, I was inspired to go straight to the camera store to purchase a camera and test my skills. And oh, what a long and adventurous ride that launched for my creative urges. With a wealth of photo opportunities, I taught myself self to seek and explore those early trials for success or failure. Fortunately, the opportunity proved successful and doors would later open proving my intuition correct. From those very days is one of my all-time favorite photos titled; "Mary Baker." It's not very often you find a remnant that still exists dating all the way back to the period after the Revolutionary War and pre-Civil War era. On this Summer day in 1968 I captured this photo (c) in Nesbitt, MS in a small abandoned graveyard covered in knee-deep brush. As inscribed here, this 236 year old gravestone reads; "Our Mother - Mary Baker - Born in Germantown TN - July 24 1797 - Died in Desoto County MS - Sept 6 1852 - Bless Her Soul Reunited with the Lord."