In 1970, in my early thirties, after a ten-year stop-and-go, hot-and-cold career in the Aerospace industry, I returned to school. Photography became part of my studies. I first noticed that I had an affinity for photography upon return from our first European trip, an 8-month visit in 1969 that covered the geographic area from Norway in the north, Morocco in the south, to Istanbul in the east and England in the west. At the time of that journey, Cheryl and I had been married for two years.

During that trip our eyes popped open to the wonders, and excitement, of unfamiliar places and cultures. How can anyone not be charmed by a nine-year-old that spoke many languages as he hustled to eke out a living in fierce competition (to my right on the photo below). Tangier in 1969, unlike today, was a mixture of exotic and dark allure, as in drugs and ‘black market’ stuff. But the camel milk butter pastries were fantastic and the sweet Moroccan oranges looked as big as basketballs.

At CSUN I majored in journalism, with a minor in art with an emphasis on Photography, this led me to learn using the medium as a way of seeing my environment and to better remember the time and circumstance, to digest that and preserve it in memory.

No flash drives then, but the resulting slides or prints were tangible objects of that “Decisive Moment” that could be filed for later viewing. These would also serve as a way to document a journey encompassing many miles and cultures. A journey taken at a time when international travel in certain parts of the world was open but could still be a daring proposition. Today some of these places have become all but impossible to visit.

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A Photo Reminiscence