Vivian Maier

Vivian Maier died at 83 in 2009. In her spare time she liked to walk the streets and take photos but she didn't really go on about it so it was basically a secret.

In 2007 an auctioneer bought a box of over 100,000 of Vivian's negatives and unprocessed films. Turns out she was 'one of greatest street photographers of her day' and never bothered to tell anyone.

Unbelievable. Amazing. Sad. Inspiring.

Bobbing

My good friend Fiona gave me this gorgeous Origami Bird Mobile for Christmas [Thanks Fi]. I have it hanging beside my desk. I'll be busy working and then I'll notice the birds bobbing away... gives me a sense of enormous well being and then I'm happy for the rest of the day safe in the knowledge there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to procrastination.
[I'm no photographer but click to enlarge]

Happy Christmas!

My Christmas morning usually entails chocolate (coins this year) and a new book (A signed copy of Simon Garfield's Just My Type). We're a man down this Christmas (one brother in Vancouver) so it's just the 4 of us and the dog... eating, drinking and squabbling the day through. Love it.

FlyLo + Thom

Yes, this is good.

Katie Kim

More old photographs...

Old images I worked on last week. These are the original scans, I like the oxidized discolouring.

Good words.

Fred Free is an American artist I came across on deviantART in 2007 and have followed ever since. He posted the following on his journal today and I found it so uplifting I'd like to share it...

"it's been 20 years since i quit my full time tedious and taxing architect job to go figure things out while wandering around europe for what seemed like forever at the time. it was about 7 weeks. i'm bringing it up (again) because the choice i made back then turned out to be a huge life-turning around move that affects everything about my world to this day. and all in a good way. so if you ever find yourself in a rut you think you're stuck in for the rest of time - a few years out of college like i was - or whenever - just do what you have to do and make your own life again. it'll most likely be worth it. [end of sermon]"


Image from Fred's deviantART page.

Theo learns Shakespeare

Images from 1960's Ireland

Amazing photos of 1960's Dublin from the Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection at Indiana University (thank you Peter).

I adore Up

USA Mum.

At 23 as a newly qualified nurse my Mum went to live in the States and stayed there for nearly 2 years. With the help of a slide scanner we've been discovering forgotten images. These were considered 'bad photos' but I like them. Check out my Mum in reds, love it.

Stones & Señoritas

I watched Gimme Shelter at the weekend (the Maysles brothers documentary about the Rolling Stones 1969 tour, which culminated in Meredith Hunter's murder). Picture your parents’ generation; fresh faced, young, beautiful and out of their faces on mind altering drugs. Here's the Stones being moody with some attractive young ladies [click for a full view]:

These aren't new.

I think the first one is my favourite (my grandparents on their honeymoon). In the last photo my Mum is the blonde sitting on my Granny's knee.

Fox Snow Dive

Neil made me me watch this>>>



Wonderful.