Photographer Shoots Mirror Selfies With His Barber Over 50 Years
A photographer who has visited the same barbershop for over 50 years has been taking selfies with his barber since 1973.
Sam Farr, 78, first took a photo of himself and his barber Joe in the early 1970s with a Rolleiflex camera. The most recent photo was taken with an iPhone and he’s also shot a photo of them with a Fujifilm X100F.
But sadly the former newspaper photographer is not well and the most recent photo could be his last as his daughter says he is in poor health because of Parkinson’s disease.
Farr has been seeing Joe for a haircut at his shop, Giuseppe’s of Bath, in the U.K. for 50 years. He has a collection of five photos with Joe, each time with a new camera.
“The first time I took the photo I had just bought a Rolleiflex camera for about £100 ($130), a lot of money back then, and I wanted to see what I looked like,” says Farr.
“I used to take photos for so many people back then but never took pictures of myself, so I decided to snap one and started a tradition.
“He’s been cutting my hair for so long that he’s changed locations three times. When we hit 50 years, we thought it would be special to celebrate it. He even gave me a free haircut.”
Farr has been getting the same haircut from Joe for half a century which he describes as the “aging Beatle” haircut.
The most recent photo was taken on an iPhone attached to a stand and that’s because Farr now has a difficult time keeping the camera steady.
“Unfortunately due to dad’s health issues I think this picture will probably be his final one,” says his daughter Nicky Higby.
“Due to his battle with Parkinson’s and other conditions, it’s hard for him to hold a camera anymore. Last time in 2015 we just about managed to do it, but this time we went for an iPhone instead.”
Higby says the tradition is much cherished in her family and Joe has always been a close friend.
“I recently saw a post about dad’s selfies on Reddit which had thousands of comments,” she adds. “The lovely thing is they always comment on how happy he looks.”
Image credits: Photos courtesy of SWNS.
