No, it’s not a real gun. Some of you relaxed reading that. It’s a replica of an 18th-century double-barrel shotgun. This is the latest prop acquisition for my Old West Photo Booth. I take pictures of people at private parties, festivals, and fundraisers. I’m collecting Hollywood-quality props and costumes to offer my clients something extraordinary. Does my taking photos of people dressed like outlaws mean I have an obsession with weapons?
Yes. But not in any NRA or #GunControlNow political sense. As a United States Marine, a manic depressive (thriving in therapy), and a politically agnostic individual, my viewpoint on weapons is often conflicted. I’ve been expressing my conflictions and convictions throughout my first five published novels. This portrait is my author photo for my upcoming release, “A More Perfect Union.” It was taken by my youngest son, Russell, whom I’m teaching how to shoot Nikon. Note that I didn’t end that sentence with “rather than” or “instead of” something. Neither is this some type of veiled pro-gun post.
I modeled this photo in the fashion my greatest influence would have shown off this shotgun–if it were real. I want your attention. I intended for this photo to be seen in a controversial light because I must be my promoter. You’ll only find my retro-vague* literary fiction controversial if you are a rabidly devoted member of any politically driven cause. But I won’t reject you if you are a card-carrying member of any party. All I’m asking you to do is imagine what will happen if we allow our society to get just a tad more polarized. Are you willing to keep stacking stones for each other until the scale tips to one extreme?
Regards,
G.A. Johnson
P.S. I stole that “retro-vague” term from my pals in Circles We Draw. They’ve got an ep releasing soon. And guess what, so does Why Will? Stayed tuned for concert announcements and Spotify pre-saves coming from the Cinemafia Productions Ltd family and its underground partner in art, Kinda Vague Records.
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