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bea fremderman

i found the above triptych on bea fremderman's filckr page and i felt compelled to post it as i found it. i feel like it must have been uploaded in this order intentionally, but i'm not entirely sure. i found the image below on her website. bea also goes by 'chicago beaf.'

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split decision

db asked me via comment why i thought today's flickr image was divided in half. i thought it was an interesting question, so i'm reposting the answer:

i can't speak to why michikokusaki chose to split this image, but as for why i responded to it:

some quick thoughts...

this image reminds me of the memento mori daguerreotypes (or maybe more accurately a tintype) of the 19th century. the over exposure or light leak in the bottom left corner makes the image feel antiquated, even though the girl's costume and gesture clearly indicate otherwise (i think the dead twig is a particularly successful compositional choice because of how it adds to the meaning of the image). the fact that the image is split in half makes me think of the magic act where the magician splits the assistant in two. it also makes me think of an autopsy.

and any time a diptych is presented i start to think about how it affects my physical reading of the image. i automatically start to reference one image against another. the act of seeing becomes more pronounced. in this image i think it heightens the feeling of nostalgia by playing off our sense of memory.

breaking news...

i shot 3 rolls of film today. this brings the total count of stock piled film i need to process to 26. sweet god.

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alana k davis

the presumably unsuspecting alana k davis friended me on virb this lovely evening. a new reader of bluebird photography, she has no idea how rarely a night of feverish posting overtakes me during these my new days in brooklyn. on this particular night, i am taking a break from reading the oh so wonderful the amazing adventures of cavalier and clay to join my friend genevieve at the tea lounge for an evening of quiet blogging. i felt alana's pictures complemented the mood of my excursion rather perfectly so i settled upon this selection of four images to share.

joan cuenco

i'm finally making some friends up here in this crazy city, one of which is joan cuenco a fellow wedding photographer/assistant. i really like this pairing of images (i took one from her "people" section and one from her "places" section and made myself a little diptych of sorts). in their ominous silence, the images generate a science-fiction-like narrative of eerie stillness.

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rj shaughnessy: deathcamp

i somehow wandered onto rj shaughnessy's website this morning and found images from his book deathcamp.

my insistence on regarding a great deal of photography as diary or memoir probably taints my reading of these images. to describe this work in the most basic terms would be to define it as documentary, but for me they are really the journaling, or as he puts it chronicling, of his coming of age. how sweetly he romanticizes his roommates in not just the images but also the word choice of his artist statement, referring to his clan as a "dozen characters" and his role as "capturing the energy and naivette of the misguided artisans." how old fashioned "artisan" feels here.

he describes, "caught between youth and adulthood...fun as priority, wasted nights, and romantic pursuits." but then, as if to hint at the true consequences of these activities, he unexpectantly titles the series "deathcamp." what a melancholic term.

stylistically speaking (considering for a moment the much darker, grittier images of the drug addled youths that larry clark documented) these images, even when using a harsh, direct flash, offer a sweet and sentimental narrative. i keep thinking of hippie communes. like he's presenting us with his image of utopia. (i seem too often to return to this idea of the artists' collective, probably because i'm such a recluse that i can't relate to this lifestyle in any imaginable way).

i also found a pretty interesting music video directed by shaughnessy here; the shots are really well composed, but i think the editing could use a little work.

deathcamp 9" x 7" softcover book of 152 pages, 100 images

p.s. i started writing this three weeks ago. so when i say "this morning" i'm really talking in relative terms. sorry for such long absenses.

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