Don's been a friend of mine since 1964 when I met him through Minor White. I worked for him printing his negatives when he worked as a freelancer for Sunset Magazine (he had more photographs published in the magazine than any other photographer in its history). Later, I shot for the magazine too, and when the magazine was unfortunately sold to Time Warner in '90 or '91, it signaled the end of all of our careers. Don, having looked forward to being able to continue to sell images to the magazine, realized that his retirement fund had been essentially erased. In the transition, the magazine had converted to color only, and is now just like every other junk rag in America. The editorial used to only be bw, the ads in color. Now you can't tell the difference. His vast files became worthless. So, he went back into his early work when he was a student at Art Center in Pasadena looking for stuff to print. He went back to LA, walked up the same path, and found Dodger Stadium. Perhaps you've heard the Ry Cooder CD or seen the PBS special on Chavez Ravine. This all came through Don's work from his files.
Don just turned 80. He is about the most charming and irresistible guy in the world, and is blessed with literally hundreds, if not thousands, of friends. A lot of them showed up at his party. A real crowd. I, and many others, just love that man. | 
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