Wayfaring Stranger…

Like most photojournalists, I LOVE photographing people doing things they enjoy – they get lost in what they’re doing and ignore me, and when I’m very lucky I can move around more-or-less freely without disturbing anyone much. When there aren’t cash customers in the seats, so I’m not blocking views, it’s even better.

And when I get a good bunch of subjects … Like, say … these folks. Well. It can get a little Katy-Bar-The-Door, here.

Nancy Leaton definitely has the true period dulcimer mistress look down pat….

And this is Natalie Arnold, who isn’t possibly old enough to be Adam’s mama but they both swear it’s true…

Jerry Humphreys, it turns out, BUILT this six-string model. (He’s quick to point out that he started with a kit, but still…. amazing.) It’s sassafras, he says, and the extra strings don’t really change the tone that much, they just give it more volume. This matters when playing for a crowd – dulcimers don’t have a lot of oomph going on.

(I made him hold it up so I could get a better look. As you can see, he was suffering.)