You see those tiny scissors, they are actually printed on the outside of the window. I managed to be lucky enough to make it look like he was cutting the hair with them.
This photo evokes boyhood memories of Saturday morning haircuts in a small town barbershop. Walk into the shop with your father. Inhale the familiar scent of barbicide. Climb on a booster seat laid across the arms of the big, green swivel chair. Rise higher into the air with each pump of the chair's handle. Hear the metallic scraping of scissors as they tickle your hair with each snip. Palaver with the barber. Feel like a real man as you notice the barber speaks with you no differently than with your father. Feel even more like a man as the barber strops his razor. He lathers the shaving brush and applies warm suds to your neck. He deftly scrapes the hair from your neck. Will I be able to do this to my face, by myself, when my beard starts to grow? Finally, the best part - the barber unclips your Superman cape (why does he always put it on backwards?) and blows the little clipped hairs from your neck with the compressed air. The SHHH sound from the air hose tells your brain the experience is almost finished. Smell the talcum powder as the barber loads the big horse hair brush. Flop, flop, flop snaps the brush across your neck and shoulders. The barber lifts away your cape full of hair as you stand in the powder cloud. "Would you like a piece of gum?"
Watch your dad get in the barber chair. Then walk into the next room and climb into the shoe shine chair. This chair is as tall as a skyscraper. Every time you smell shoe polish as an older man your memories flash back to this tall chair with the individual foot rests. Enjoy the strange feeling pressure across the top of your feet as the shoe shine man buffs your shoes.
A good barber shop makes every man feel like a king.
Matt, your photograph is excellent. It is technically good, with areas of bright white, dark black, and values in between. It also tells a story and invites the viewer to reflect upon his own experience. I like it.
@regularguy That's an amazingly evocative and atmospheric piece of writing. I feel honoured and delighted that you posted that. It was great to read (I read it twice) I can almost smell the warm aroma of soap suds drifting in the air, and the clip of the silver scissors behind the ears, all which compliment the easy chat which is directed over the shoulder or into the mirror. Then there's the breeze, followed by the chink of the doorbell from an unlatched door. Another customer has arrived to enjoy the experience. :)
@sabresun I can't believe I forgot the tintinnabulation of the bells hanging from the door, or the wood-on-wood clap as the spring slams the door closed. Thanks for reminding me.
My bad - it was a past challenge, artist Fred Hertzog.... The post popped up on my radar right before I saw your image, so I was confused about the dates. But check out the artist, your image really resonates!
Watch your dad get in the barber chair. Then walk into the next room and climb into the shoe shine chair. This chair is as tall as a skyscraper. Every time you smell shoe polish as an older man your memories flash back to this tall chair with the individual foot rests. Enjoy the strange feeling pressure across the top of your feet as the shoe shine man buffs your shoes.
A good barber shop makes every man feel like a king.
Matt, your photograph is excellent. It is technically good, with areas of bright white, dark black, and values in between. It also tells a story and invites the viewer to reflect upon his own experience. I like it.