This is a photograph from one of Walter Sprouse’s birthday parties. One day Walter just showed up at the hollow (a group of houses, and a small community, in a hollow that ran up the side of a small mountain, on Route 29 south of Charlottesville, Va.) and after introductions, started playing his banjo and singing very old songs.
It was the kind of simple music associated with the early 1900’s in the Virginia highlands. Walter’s birthday became a yearly party at the hollow, where Walter would play for hours, and everyone else would “kick back.” Walter seemed to feel quite at home with the younger folks. He had a very gentlemanly demeanor and his main interest, second to his family, was the old songs. The photo was taken with 35mm camera and Tri-x film.
2 comments:
I really like the photo with the people in the background. Interesting enough now, but let that one age a few decades and I bet it will get even better.
K. Praslowicz
It's about a decade old now. I like the shot with Walter with the party folks better too. It's the contrast.
It was quite a bash, with a pig roast, overnight parking/camping and music, generally including Walter and a band of some sort. Walter seemed to feel comfortable there. Walter would generally walk around with a beer in hand, although I doubt he really drank it. It was more of a prop so he’d fit in with the crew.
Ed
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