Historic Hood River
Later That Day…
Notes
This is a pretty normal looking Alva Day self portrait until you notice the date/time stamp on the negative from his “autographic” camera. May 13, 1942, 1:45pm. About four hours earlier Alva Day was at the Hood River depot documenting the removal of the Hood River residents of Japanese ancestry. You can review those important images here, here and here, with additional detail views here and here. Several of those posts include comments by Homer Yasui, who was on the train that day.
With such a clear view of Alva Day’s face it’s natural to try to read his emotions– his eyes, the curl of his lips, the position of his hands– do they tell us anything about his emotions on that day? I can’t read anything here, but maybe you can. Had he just said “goodbye” to a friend or fellow Pacific Power employee? Or was this just another day?
A technical note: the “32 B” in the corner means the camera aperture was set to f32, and the exposure was set to “Bulb” (time exposure) which means Day was somehow controlling the shutter open and close manually. I don’t see any sign of a cable release, but it could be there or he could have had someone else controlling the shutter. I’m not sure if this was natural light or a flash exposure, but it’s always impressive when someone gets a good exposure on an inside portrait like this.
L. E.
I would never have known this was Alva Day. I don’t think I have ever seen him in a suit.
nels
Me either, and without a hat. Probably why he had the photo taken, in case he needed a more formal photo without his usual outdoor gear. Back in that day, most men had one suit, the ‘Sunday go meeting’ suit’ and funerals.
L. E.
I doubt if this was “just another day”.
Our country had been attacked with air power. We were at war. Both Alva and his son had to register for the draft. Extra security measures were being taken at Bonneville Dam, with the concern it might be a major object of attack. Alva, being involved in the power business was probably very aware of that threat.
And then, he had watched Hood River families board the train, headed for unknown destinations.
These must have been uneasy days for Alva.
JEC
f/32 with available room light on the slow film available circa 1940 would result in a long, possibly multi-second, exposure. His thought process may have been more like “don’t move…don’t blink…don’t move…”