Stan Shuttleworth was not a professional photographer by trade. He worked for the San Bernardino County Planning Commission and lived in Redlands, California. But from the 1950s onward, he devoted a large part of his personal life to one very specific subject: women with long hair.
To find his models, Shuttleworth placed advertisements in local newspapers. He looked for women with long hair who were willing to sit for portraits. It was a straightforward approach, and it worked. His photos were carefully composed — not casual snapshots. He framed each shot to put the hair front and center, highlighting its length and texture.
Shuttleworth knew others shared his appreciation for long hair, and he wanted to reach them. His distribution method was built entirely on trust. When someone requested photos, he mailed them a sample selection. If the recipient liked what they saw, they sent payment. If they didn’t, they returned the samples. No contracts, no storefront — just an honor system.
This simple model let him share his work across a wide audience without complex sales structures. It also reflected his genuine belief that people would deal with him honestly — and by most accounts, they did.
Shuttleworth continued photographing through the decades, building a substantial body of work. He died in the 1980s from complications related to diabetes, a condition he had battled for years. His photographs remain a vivid record of a very particular mid-20th century aesthetic.
