1978. Newport Collage of Art, South Wales. The Documentary Photography Course taught by Magnum photographer David Hern. I was honoured to be part of that ground breaking course for one year. David gave all the students a signed copy of one of his black and white photographs. I've just had mine put in a proper frame.
Even before I'd become involved in Buddhism the picture I chose spoke directly of the human condition, in a gentle and compassionate way. The line from one of our scriptures fits it so well. 'Here born we clutch at things, and then compound delusion later on by following ideals'. The photo depicts a smartly dressed elderly gentleman reaching up to a balloon floating above him. On the back of my print is written, Happy times at the MG car owners' ball. Edinburgh, Scotland. 1967.
You can see this photograph and many other truly beautiful black and white photographs by David Hern on the Magnam web site. I discovered the link to Magnam here last evening. Many thanks.
The Magnum site is probably better with a fast connection, however well worth the wait with a slow connection.
