Acme Book Co. 1981

While preparing for the upcoming LPB screening on August 17th of my 1977 film Atchafalaya: America's Largest River Basin Swamp, I have been finding all kinds of old memorabilia. One that brings back fond memories is a monthly newsletter that Acme Book Co. issued before my first autograph party for my premier book.  It too was on the Atchafalaya and came out 4 years after the film.

Acme Book Co. Newsletter Cover July 1981

Acme Book Co. was a unique bookstore owned and operated by Larry Fisher.  And on that day in 1981 I was dumbfounded to find a crowd of fifty folks waiting for my autograph, a pot of gumbo, beer, caviar, champagne, and a Cajun combo…fiddle and all.  These were pre Barnes and Noble days when bookstore owners were always in the shop and knew their customers by name. Charles Elliott also had a great independent bookstore called Elliot's. Claudette Price ran the bookstore at Godchaux's.  Claitor’s had a very nice private bookstore in the shopping center where I had my first gallery. There were a few more and it's sad to say that Danny Plaisance of Cottonwood Books is the only independent bookseller left. 

So, here is to beer and gumbo and Acme Book Co...what a way to present my first book.

Atchafalaya Memories

On August 17, 2011 LPB will broadcast my Atchafalaya Movie that originally premiered in the spring of 1977 at the LSU Student Union Theater to a standing room only crowd of 1,400 people.  LPB is going to show it during their summer fundraiser evening.  This brings back fond memories of my carefree early days in the Basin.

Meeting the people I called swampers was a big part of those recollections.  Calvin Voison and Gwen Carpenter Roland were two of the first swampers I met and we became fast friends.  I just saw a post in Gwen's Facebook page that told about her favorite picture I took of her. In the photo she is looking out the window of Pajo Curry's shack on the Atchafalaya River. 

Gwen Carpenter at Pajo Curry's shack

I wasn't a people photographer at all when I first entered the Atchafalaya.   The long stretches of calm and peaceful days out there exploring alone in my canoe made me appreciate the times I ran into the swamp people. I learned to photograph them from afar and not get in their way.  And in this way I learned people photography.

I'll post some more memories on my early days in the swamp before LPB shows, Atchafalaya: America's Largest River Basin Swamp.

August E-Blast + News and Specials!

We just launched the CC Lockwood August E-Blast! Check it out HERE for info on the August 17th LPB premiere of CC Lockwood's 1977 Atchafalaya movie +  Prints of the Month Sale (see below) + Upcoming Fall Photo Workshops!

Don't miss out on our fantastic August Special on ALL Prints of the Month! These $100 signed CC Lockwood prints are available at the special price of $40 for the month of August. Check them all out HERE!