-
Can You Spot the Anomaly?
Continue ReadingThese are 17th Century French fur traders (historical impersonators) angling a canoe toward shore along the Ohio River. A modern detail betrays them, despite their elaborate attempt to deceive.
-
The Angry Tongue
Continue ReadingThis image puts me on guard, ready for a struggle. Why does this configuration speak loudly of aggression and danger? The focal point suggests the middle digit of a primate hand — upraised and thrust toward us by a snarling alpha male. Or it could be the sharp angry tongue of a reptile. The […]
-
Shaking Sand From Her Shoe
Continue ReadingAn Egyptian girl perches on a ledge along the Coast Road and shakes sand from one of her shoes, her exposed head still wet from bathing in the Mediterranean Sea. Soon her conspicuous hair and skin will become unacceptable; casual innocent moments like this will be forbidden in public. It could signal a reputation-destroying […]
-
On The Distractible Tendency of Crowds
Continue ReadingI once believed that crowds were more or less unified; at first glance it seems that way. After all, people have gathered in the same place at the same time for the same reason, presumably to enjoy the same event. Then I began taking photographs in the midst of human assemblies, studying the images […]
-
I Didn’t Think She Was Real
Continue ReadingShe calls herself a Living Statue. On street corners in Asheville, North Carolina she is known as The Silver Drummer Girl, a woman who has trained her muscles to an extreme degree, and therefore is able to remain utterly still on public sidewalks in excess of five minutes at a time, while standing on […]
-
Young Woman In Reverie
Continue ReadingAround her an exuberant gathering quickens. People are tossing balloons, hugging each other and modeling festive headgear. Screams of excited women echo through the building. The band plays Afro-Cuban, muscular loud music in which percussion and horns dominate. On the platform a dance troop performs in a frenzy, spinning and twisting among the wild […]
-
Waking Up In Yemen
Continue ReadingI spent my first days and nights in Yemen with this view from my sleeping room. This is sunrise in the ancient part of Sanaa, the capital city, where the buildings and alleys, stone gates, walls and walkways have not changed since Medieval times. The markets are lively here; their chaos and colorful aggressive vendors […]
-
When Will Our Civil War End?
Continue ReadingYou might live a whole life west of the Rocky Mountains and not realize this: the Civil War never ended, not for an army of amateur actors recreating historical encampments and battles. The war has not ended for many other modern people alive now in the Old Confederacy, who identify with a disappeared way […]
-
The Three Mounted Officers
Continue ReadingMounted police geared up like this project strength and low-key swagger. In our photograph I think the isolating of certain details adds to this impression, beginning with the powerful hindquarters and flanks of the horses, and continuing among the luxurious folds of the officers’ leather jackets. Three of anything brings to mind a triangle or […]
Latest Entries
Not Even An Honorable MentionIn Aesthetics, Art Historical, Autobiographical, TechnicalI once submitted this picture to a […]
A Most Challenging LookIn Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Portraiture, Street PhotographyIn their frankness her eyes disconcert me. She […]
Why I Came Home EarlyIn Autobiographical, Cultural Anthropology, Egypt, Middle EastAssume you are a middle-aged man born and raised in […]
A Scene From YesteryearIn Americana, Cultural Anthropology, Street PhotographyIn this slice of American history, relaxation — […]
On Visiting A Bonfire-SiteIn Art Historical, Cultural Anthropology, Pilgrimages, ReportageA Ruined Chapel in the California Desert […]