Yup, that' me.
The guy on the right. Pretty cute, huh?
This is one of my first memories of the World of Photography.
Drug Store Portraits
My mom would get us all gussied up for photo sessions at Landa Pharmacy in New Braunfels Texas. It was a local, strip-mall type pharmacy - long before Walgreens and CVS took over. There was a photographer there that did recurring sessions. I swear, he was literally set up on an end cap to one of the shelves, at least that's how I remember it.
I vividly remember the start of this day. Mom had our outfits ready to go, combed our hair, probably even cleaned off our faces for us. I know I wanted to look EXTRA special for Mom, good son that I am.
Never mind Brylcream's slogan of "A Little Dab'll Do Ya". I felt my hair needed a little more attention.. Imagine poor Maria's reaction when she walked in and found my head lathered with more grease than Elvis' geetar!
Next thing I knew, I woke up in a hot Chevette next to by brother, headed for the local drug store. The photographer still managed to capture that winning smile!
CHEESE!
School Days
Mr. Reinke's 3rd Grade Class, Seele Elementary, New Braunfels, Texas.
The Seed Was Planted
School photos were a bit different. These guys had the set up: Lights, Camera, and Action baby! Ok, maybe I'm over thinking it, but Picture Days were always fun for me. "Ok, fix your shirt, turn your chin, and say 'Leapin' Lizards'...." Snap. Some of the photographers over the years were quite charismatic, while others were - eh, maybe a little creepy. (Guess not much has changed - but that's for a later post.)
I thought to myself, if this snot-nosed kid was enjoying it this much, those photographers must be having a blast. Little did I know, decades later - I was about to find out.
I hope you enjoyed my little trip down Memory Lane.
I plan to share more in the future. In the meantime, feel free to comment or even drop an image of one of your early photography memories. It would be fun .to share.
Welcome to The Magnolia Gruene Blog and we'll see you on the next post.
.png)