SAMA - Wandering Poets Catalog

Hank O’Neal (b. 1940)

Railroad Station Platform, Cardiff, Wales, UK, 1978

Gelatin Silver Print, 11"x14"

Gift of Elsie Hillman

2002.017

Hank O’Neal established himself in photography and music. Since 1968, he has produced hundreds of records; since the age of thirteen, when he won a Brownie Hawkeye in a contest, he has involved himself in photography, working dexterously with 35mm, mediumformat and large-format cameras. In 1972, he met Berenice Abbott, who agreed to instruct him in the use of a large-format camera, a lesson fulfilled in a single half-hour. Walker Evans and Andre Kertesz, a friend and neighbor were also of great influence. O’Neal graduated from Syracuse University in 1962; while working on his master’s degree, he was recruited by the CIA and worked for the Agency until 1976.

In mid-1978, I went to England for a short holiday with Gigi Wimmer. I had no assignments of any sort, except to try and take one photograph for a record I was then producing with the marvelous Welsh pianist, Dillwyn Jones. The album was tentatively titled There Are No Flowers in Tiger Bay, Tiger Bay being a particularly rough part of the city of Cardiff.

I was determined to go to Cardiff and take a good picture of Tiger Bay for the album cover,

but Gigi was uninterested, I went to Paddington Station alone, booked a round-trip to Cardiff,

arrived around noon, and made my way to Tiger Bay. Once there, I discovered the largest

mud puddle I’d ever seen (the tide was out – way out), and I was told the tide wouldn’t be

back in for many hours. I took a few pictures, and, somewhat dejected, made my way back to

the station. I was early and wandered around, killing time. At one point I walked to the very

end of a platform and came upon and old wall with an empty window frame. I took two pho -

tographs, one with the woman, and one without.

Hank O’Neal

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Hank O'Neal