Originally Posted by
Merg Ross
Hi Alan. Good guess! This is the story.
It was taken on a 1954 photo trip with my father, Brett Weston, and Brett's wife Dody. I was thirteen. We were starting a week-long winter trip heading to the eastern side of the Sierra via Echo Pass. The ice formations along the American River were magnificent as we headed up the canyon. We stopped, my father and Brett with their 8x10 cameras, Dody with her 5x7, and I with the 4x5.
There we were, no doubt a curious site, spread along the bank of the river creating our masterpieces. And then, a car stopped on the highway shoulder and a family with young children descended to the river. They, adults and children, began a rock attack, taking glee in smashing the ice, in particular that closest to our tripods. Mission accomplished, they departed as quickly as they had appeared. To this day, I have no answer for that bizarre display of human behavior.
However, I worked fast, and a 4x5 contact print from that morning is at MOMA.
Thank you Alan, also Rick and Pat.
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