In 1977, I was in New Orleans to see friends for Christmas, but stayed through Mardi Gras.

I was wandering the French Quarter that January when I saw a parade led by a brass band marching down Chartres Street, a crowd following. I had my film camera ready. I was next to the band when its leader, a young trumpeter, turned my way. I snapped one shot.

When viewing the proof sheet, that image caught my eye. I made two 8-by-10-inch prints and kept them in a box that I dragged around with me for years. I always wondered who that young man was leading his brass band.

Several years ago, a professional photographer friend from undergraduate school scanned the print and created a digital file so that I could have more prints made if I ever wanted. I had long ago lost the negative.

All this got me wondering once again, who was the young man in the photo?

Could he still be alive?

Could I possibly figure out his identity?

I did some sleuthing on Wikipedia that hinted that this person might be Gregg Stafford, a noted New Orleans jazz trumpeter. I got his email address from someone who knew him and sent him an email asking if it was him in the photo, as I wanted to present that person with a framed print of the shot I took so long ago.

Five minutes after hitting send, my cellphone rang and it was Stafford. He confirmed that it was him in the photo, and that the event was a parade his band conducted for Denver Broncos fans whose team was playing the Dallas Cowboys in the 1978 Super Bowl in the city. The foam balls trailing off his hat were meant to be oranges, as the Denver faithful were known as the Orange Crush.

On June 4, 2021, I presented Stafford with the photo of his 24-year-old self guiding those musicians more than four decades earlier. We met at a popular New Orleans po-boy shop to eat and visit. I had him autograph a 16-by-20-inch canvas print for me. As I began unwrapping the photo for Stafford, a crowd gathered around our table. I told them about taking the photo 43 years ago and tracking down the man featured.

A visibly moved Stafford said that he'd find a special place in his home for the print.

It amazed me how this image I photographed all those years ago literally came to life once I pursued the man's identity. I didn't give up.

A great experience and I made a new friend in the process.

Dawkins lives in Lafayette.