I recently saw the Bruce Conner retrospective at SF MoMA where several of his films were on display, including Crossroads, the mesmerizing montage of atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. We walked into the gallery in the last moments of the film, a wide calm of sea and clouds on the screen. A couple in front of me sat on the floor relaxing as if on the beach. I immediately had the thought that I want to capture their silhouettes against the backdrop of the explosion. I took a test shot while waiting for the action to start. But alas, the loop came to the end, and the couple got up to leave. Once the film started through again, I took a few shots of the screen. After seeing them on the computer, I decided to crudely compose the shot I had wanted to get.

I’ve never been very good with photoshop. Maybe it will be okay; I feel a punk art resistance coming back.