chuckography

Long before I moved to Minnesota....

I remember having the picture signed in the 1960s but did not have a copy now. THIS shot - angled away from the camera - is the only reminder I had of meeting the noted billiards man - Minnesota Fats. I was a staff photographer for the San Diego Union-Tribune and took pictures of "Fats" in 1966 giving a demonstration of his skills at a Mission Valley shopping mall. After going back downtown to the paper to meet deadline, I made an extra print and drove back to see if he would sign it. He did. And my folks are pictured admiring it when they came to visit from South Carolina. Move ahead 44 years. Thank goodness someone invented Photoshop. I was able to use the photo of the signed photo tilted away from the camera and "correct/change" the perspective! That is a new version - cropping out my parents - and The Fat Man is seen again. Oh sure, if you look closely there are some "ripples" in the edge of the pool table but all in all, a satisfying use of high technology. Now if only I could make Twitter work for me.

Labels: Minnesota Fats, Mission Valley, San Diego Union-Tribune, tweet, twitter.com, U-T newspapers

posted by chucker @ 11:53 AM