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This is one of my favourite photos ever. I’d like to think she’s drawing her guns, not pulling up her pants…
I first discovered it when Dinosaur Jr used it as an album cover for the excellent album Green Mind (1991). The photographer is Joseph Szabo, a guy who spent 35 years taking pictures of teens at Malverene High School in New York where he worked as a teacher. This particular photo, Priscilla 1969, is shot at Jones Beach and Joe himself tells the story:
“The girl in the photo is a mystery and will ever remain so. One day as I was photographing at Jones Beach I saw “Priscilla” in front of me and my immediate reaction was to make a photo(s) before the moment changed. I took a few photos, looked down to rewind the film, and put in another roll. When I looked up she was gone! …but I had the photo and it is my most sought after image.”
It is featured in his book Almost Grown:
“Almost Grown is a celebration of teen-age experience: the years of restless desire and blossoming sexuality; the world of high school, parking lots, and street corners; and the uniquely American culture in which all of us have grown up. It is a record in photographs and poetry that combines the talents of an adult photographer and a group of almost-adult poets who were asked to tell a picture’s story as their own. The result is an unusual collaboration between teacher and teenager, a funny and romantic look at teenagers looking at themselves. Theirs is a world rarely witnessed by parents. Here is what kids do together – at the beach of the drive-in, during and after school – what they themselves describe as “doing nothing” because it is neither work nor play.”
Here are some shots from Joe’s books Almost Grown, Teenage, Jones Beach and Rolling Stones Fans.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCSNvbA_oI/AAAAAAAACws/aCY8XyJDrZ4/s400/32T.jpg)
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCSKe9KA_I/AAAAAAAACwk/EoKVkHscA5M/s400/31T.jpg)
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCSG-jpOeI/AAAAAAAACwc/6mNKE0qT9gE/s400/24J.jpg)
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCSD9Mt-TI/AAAAAAAACwU/2c4IjMHp9ss/s400/23A.jpg)
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCR9L8HJeI/AAAAAAAACwE/9NsGbF0h6U4/s400/21A.jpg)
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCR5mXCcoI/AAAAAAAACv8/71oE4-rPiNw/s400/17rs.jpg)
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCR1jzBMlI/AAAAAAAACv0/wRUeV1Sc-V4/s400/14A.jpg)
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCRx04omlI/AAAAAAAACvs/yrm0EbZRQr8/s400/13Js.jpg)
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCRuUIk6sI/AAAAAAAACvk/2W-pKI9oO18/s400/8A.jpg)
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCRnqxmAwI/AAAAAAAACvU/LXv2sCrjlhw/s400/7A.jpg)
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCRjRrGRMI/AAAAAAAACvM/jestSYwsP4s/s400/5A.jpg)
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCRfW7GVQI/AAAAAAAACvE/XvZUDkCGRVg/s400/2T.jpg)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCRcFKGRUI/AAAAAAAACu8/kbjPl5GWyFY/s400/2rs.jpg)
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XRyDF3c2S-s/SkCRYp3JNrI/AAAAAAAACu0/E4UDuW7ES54/s400/1A.jpg)