During one of the workshops I was giving in the sleepy town of Santa Rosa de Viterbo in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, the subject matter was to discover and photograph historical monuments in the community. One of my students pointed out that his grandfather still had a working RCA Victor Gramaphone, the famous Talking Machine. The group descended on the old man's humble dwellings where he proudly displayed the instrument. He boasted that he himself had actually built the cartridge and needle, so I asked whether he had any 78 rpm records around. I investigated a dusty shelf and took the first one from its paper sleeve and he gently laid it on the turtable. He then cranked a lever to wind the mechanism and moved his head closer to the ornate cone to verify the sound. To my surprise it was actually playing Neil Sedaka's Oh! Carol... The synergy of the moment was terrific as I clicked away with my mirrorless camera triggering my own childhood memories. The compostion reminded my of the fox terrier Nipper listening to a gramophone - His Master's Voice - as on the original record label. This was truly a magical moment in photography. Later we presented the old man with a Giclée print on fine art cotton rag, which he assured us he would cherish to remember our invasion of his life's memories.
Geo Location - Santa Rosa de Viterbo • 21°31'32.5"S 47°21'59.8"W • -21.525683, -47.366623