I first came across Bill’s work through a book dealer’s email blast from Europe a couple of years ago. I couldn’t believe I had missed out on this out of print book that was released in 2016.
The book is called Sweetheart Roller Skating Rink and I still kick myself for missing out on it. It’s now a $400 book (worth it) but out of my budget and I kinda forgot about it and then Joseph Bellows did a show on the work and I read a bit on Bill and there was something that said about being in north Florida. I got excited because I’m in Saint Augustine and north florida from me is about an hour drive. I lived in LA for 12 years so an hour or 2 drive is no biggie.
I sent an email and immediately heard back from Bill and after a couple hangs, here we are.
GC: When did you realize you wanted to publish something based on your time at 3 Cent Farm?
BY: Almost immediately. It is the home of my publisher, Bill Boling at Fall Line Press, and where we do my book editing. It’s a special place.
You know, sometimes you’re dropped into a place/landscape that has a look/feel of curiosity. And your eye says to brain, pay attention. The end result is not a formal bound book but tabloid sized “zine.” A publication that is inexpensive and easily accessible. Bill wrote a fascinating essay about the history of his three centuries farm for the zine.
GC: Was it challenging to edit down the years of shots taken down there ?
BY: Editing is my worst nightmare. I’m a prolific shooter. Eventually the work comes together - images working together to tell a story or evoke a sense of place. I think the reader will “get it.”
GC: We’ve had some conversations about your mindset and routine in that you will just get in your car and drive.
BY: This conversation often comes up when mentoring other photographers. So here’s what I say to them - “Curiosity drives me, always has. It is the light and form in my periphery that commands my attention. U-turns and the occasional whiplash are the order of the day. I use whatever’s handy—a pinhole, a Diana, a Hasselblad SWC, a DSLR, or an iPhone—to document, to satisfy my visual curiosity, to see what it looks like photographically. Occasionally I get a “keeper.” This constant activity keeps my eye sharp and my mind wondering.”
GC: Do you think that being in the South and where you live is a bonus because of the different kinds of geography and scenery you can have? Florida is such a unique place and massive….
BY: The South is a gift, and I include Florida. It is vast in its societal/geographical/visual contradictions. Road-tripping through the region always presents the opportunity to take photographs. Florida, for instance - West Florida, the panhandle, is the “redneck riviera,” coastal Alabama; Northeast Florida still thinks its South Georgia; rural/agricultural Central Florida became “Disneyfied” in the mid 1970’s, a tourist heaven now; South Florida was once the land of the northern “snowbirds,” now it’s infused with international expatriates and rising waters due to climate change. The region offers vast opportunities for photographic greatness.
GC: With your 1970’s Sweetheart Roller Skating Rink series having such an immediate success after going viral so many years later, was that the fire starter to get more of your work out there to people?
BY: My work has always been a private endeavor. Success came early (‘70’s/my 20’s) and I wasn’t prepared nor wanted to deal with galleries or collectors. I photographed for peace of mind, my curiosity, not for an audience. After 30+ years of marriage, raising two extraordinary kids, nearly 50,000 negatives plus 700,000 digital image files, in 2013 my kids confronted me over pizza and beer. “Dad! We need to talk about your photographic legacy.” That long, and sometimes emotional conversation got me moving. I’m now editing my entire archive of fifty plus years, while continuing to shoot landscape and documentary photographs.
GC: How can someone buy this zine? And can you talk about the details? Pages/pics/printing ?
BY: I have provided a link to a flip-book so your readers can look for themselves. It’s 16 pages, tabloid sized, and nearly 60 photographs. I print in small batches, on demand. The cost is $30.00, shipping included, US only. Please send a request to purchase via my email below.
GC: What can we expect next from ya?
BY: We’ve completed editing a comprehensive book on the 1970’s Sweetheart project. It’s now in design with nearly 300 photographs, 2 essays, one by a leading PhD photographic historian, and the other by a PhD historian in Southern Studies. It will be published early in 2025. I’ll soon be starting the editing process for a retrospective book, a look at my 50+ years in photography.
BY: To see the 3 Cent Farm Zine, and other work, I have provided a link to my Linktree to access my website, social media, etc.
To order the 3 Cent Farm Zine:email me at: byates.photo@gmail.com
3 Cent Farm Zine Flipbook: https://issuu.com/bill_yates_photo/docs/3_cent_farm_final_byates_web_size_3
Other work and website: https://linktr.ee/billyatesphoto
Photographs:
3 Cent Farm Zine
(c) Bill Yates 2024 all rights reserved
Photographs:
Sweetheart Roller Skating Rink - 1982-1973
(c) Bill Yates 2024 all rights reserved
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