On May 10th 1994 (I am pretty sure that was the date) I was working at an one hour film store in Medway – I would end up purchasing the store a few years later. I was 19, only had a my Pentax K1000 a few months. There was an eclipse, no hype like today’s, just another day. I grabbed a roll of film, a long lens and stood in front of the store with a few other people. A kid about 5 was standing on the sidewalk wearing a welding helmet looking at the sun. I tossed the helmet in front of the lens and took one shot. It is below, the only photo I took. The benefit of working at a film lab was in a matter of hours I had prints hanging in the store. That afternoon a woman came in and asked to purchase the photo. I had never sold a print, I had no idea what to charge her, it was so cool to be asked. Someone wanted to buy a photo I took. Awesome right? So I told her $10 for a 5×7 print… she flipped, called me a “starving artist” but there was a tone, it was not nice. I remember the feeling of being horrified, I had insulted her with the price, yet I was one the being insulted. I went from excited to pissed in a matter of seconds, in the end she bought it for $5. I wish I had never sold it to her, but a sale is a sale right? My first sale – I will never forget it. 23 years later, I photographed another eclipse, filters, glasses, all prepared long in advance. I like them, but there is something about that solo film shot, it is worth at least $6 by now.

tr/trp