I took this photo in the spring of 1967, in the village of San Francisco on the Balearic island of Formentera where I was living at the time. The wall in the background is the church of Sant Francesc Xavier, an eighteenth century building, fortified against attacks by the Barbary pirates who periodically descended on the island. The mesh above the court must be there to keep the soccer ball in bounds. I assume that the taller figure is that of the local priest, or brother, acting as a referee, as he is the only one wearing street shoes. I took this with a Leica M3, I think. Like many architecture students (I had just graduated) I was a devotee of sports cars (which I couldn’t afford–my first car was a VW bug, though later I graduated to a Mini Cooper) and cameras (which I could). So what do I like about the photo? Volumes in sun and shade–the Corbusian trilogy–boys at play, the moment frozen forever; it is the world of a 24-year-old architect on the edge of life.
Great picture. I like the amazing sense of depth, almost like watching a three-D photograph.
Hello–I’m writing a novel and trying to picture San Francisco in my mind. I had a house, Can Pujolet, on Cape Barberia, in ’65, then La Mola in ’66, and was often in Sf, as Jack Longini lived behind the church and Sam Suliman nearby. All I remember was a dusty little square and Klaus’s Bar.
i was the first time in Formentera i 1959. and i was living there since 1967 till 1995. I was working there as an architect..Now i’m tryinG to write a book about Formentera. Maybe you would be interested to publish something about. At the same time i found this foto extraordinary. Can i publish it in my book? Francesc Negre