Llewellyn Berry
Girl Eating Watermelon
Posted on February 23, 2011by Llewellyn Berry
As a photography teacher, it is incumbent on me to provide opportunities early in the class cycle for students to easily find pictures or scenes and subjects to photograph. Early in the class I would talk about photographers who inspired me. Ansel Adams, Roy de Carava, PH Polk, Henri Cartier Bresson, James Van Der Zee, Dorothea Lange, Moneta Sleet and of course many others who may only have a print or two published in an anthology. All of these photographers made pictures of people in ordinary situations but the pictures become extraordinary due to the rendering of the photographer. The uses of light, composition, exposure, etc. all contribute to taking the ordinary and transcending it photographically.
On this particular day, I had a private photography student and we ventured out to the Farmers Market in DC on New York Ave. In those days, the market was thriving on Saturdays filled with people selling all kinds of meats and produce. The produce sellers were usually truck farmers from rural Virginia or even further south, as far south as North Carolina.
The market was in full bustle that day and my student found much to photograph. I was shooting with a Mamiya Sekor Twin Lens Reflex C330 which was 21/4 format. It produced negatives that were 21/4 square. It was a larger negative than the 35mm and gave greater detail in a square format. It was a great camera and I loved it.
There was so much to shoot but the Mamiya C330 roll was only 12 exposures so I was being very conscious of what I chose to shoot. There were lots of children about and kids generally love to have their picture taken. Shortly, two boys ran over to me after seeing the camera and struck a pose. It was really funny but in that instant, I saw the picture they made.
One boy looked directly into the camera lens and had his hands on his brother’s shoulder. The other boy with his baseball cap turned backward and as he chewed on a sugar stick, he looked away from the camera. That was the shot and I only took one. They were happy. I was happy and I moved on to look for more subjects. I did talk to the father of the boys and they were truck farmers who had come all the way up from North Carolina to sell at the Farmers Market.
I took several more shots and with only a few exposures left, I saw the boys’ sisters. One was very pregnant and the other had a large wedge of watermelon in her hands. She turned as she munched on the watermelon and the photograph was undeniable. It became one of my all time favorites and it has times caused some controversy.
The girl is eating watermelon. Her pigtails stand out and there is melon juice running down her hands and the dress she is wearing is soiled and reminiscent of poor farm people. However, for me it is her eyes that capture the audience. It is the girl’s eyes that have led me back to this photograph time and time again.
Girl Eating Watermelon
Farmers Market
Washington, DC
1979
Now one might ask: What about the photograph of the boys? Well, interesting story why I do not post it here. I made the print and I made many prints. I sepia toned it. I made Kodaliths of it. I matted it and framed it. Lots of folks have it. What I did not have, was permission from the parents. I didn’t think anything of the picture at the time I shot it – just that I liked it. I did not take it seriously and get a “Model Release” for it.
One day there were visitors to my apartment. I think they came with a former student. The picture of the two boys hung proudly among my other photographs and when this person entered and saw the photograph, they said: “Wow, how do you happen to have a picture of…” He actually called them by name. I was stunned. I said: “You know these boys?” and he said, “Yeah, that’s …” He called them by name again. Yes, they were from North Carolina. Now, I must admit that the rest of that encounter is a blur to me. Nevertheless, I stopped showing that photograph and certainly did not sell it.
But, it’s a great photograph. You should see it… Perhaps one day It'll pop up on my Blog. Is there a statute of limitations that applies here???