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Candas, Spain 1988
Sponsored by Jay and Heidi Short
This one is one of my favorites,
partly due to the story behind it, but mainly because the feel of the
piece.
Having just worked in Salamanca,
and due to no money for transportation, I was hitchhiking to the northern
part of Spain. I was picked up by a gentleman whom insisted we stop at his
local watering hole so he could introduce me to the local libation- sidra.
Sidra is made from apples, and is basically a type of apple wine. It's not
real potent, and there the custom is to pour it with one hand holding the
bottle above you head a high as you can, while with the other you hold the
glass as low down as possible, down by your knee. Now the hard part is
hitting the glass with your pour, and at the same time not hitting your
forehead as you look down to see if you are hitting the glass. Of
course, you miss the first second or two, but then you hit it. This then
causes a lot of oxygen to be mixed in it, adding to the flavor. You then
give it to the other person to drink, and when they finish, they take the
same glass and pour you your drink.
For pictures of folks pouring it, and story of sidra, visit:
http://www.tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/apple-cider-the-pride-ofasturias-spain-
After we finished, he took me to
meet his dad out in the country, he said maybe they could figure a place
for me to camp out of the rain at his farm. His dad was very nice, and
after some thought said there was a place up in the top section of the
barn, above the cows, in the hay they store to throw down to them. Cool. I
was shown the place, and then offered a car to drive around Asturias, the
county I was not in. I said, "heck no, I don't even know you guys, I don't
feel right borrowing your car". They insisted that I at least borrow one
of their bikes. So I did, and it'd been years since I biked, and you can
imaging how sore I was at the end of the day. I did see one possible shot
in the port, but it really did not work out. Day two was also artless, I
did not find a photo worthy of taking time to set up.
As I was getting ready to leave
town on the morning of day three, getting a ride from the son again up to
the main highway, I realized the great morning light coming from a the
barn door and windows lit the place up wonderfully, and set up and
captured it. THAT was the shot, and you never know where you'll find it.
I later used the image to promote
the series, and mailed back a copy of the photo that had been printed in a
local newspaper. I got a report back the father had been so honored, and
elated, to see his barn published in a USA newspaper.
How wonderful.
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