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Welcome to my Blog! Anybody, providing he knows how to be amusing, has the right to
talk about himself. -
Charles Baudelaire Not even I understand everything I am ¬Aurelius Augustinus of Hippo In 2013 I started a series of photo albums on Blurb.com, named '36Exp' (a subject adressed in 36 exposures, a reference to the exposures on most common rolls of 35 mm film: 12, 24 & 36.). |
HARLEM SHUFFLE by COLSON WHITEHEAD | BOOKS FICTION ![]()
'Harlem Shuffle' is the captivating story of Ray Carney: a furniture salesman, family man, entrepreneur on the rise and a walking & talking striver. In his straight life, Carney is the owner and proprietor of Carney’s Furniture, which serves the neighborhood’s Black clientele. arney is also a tender husband to his supportive pregnant wife Elizabeth and father to their young daughter Mary. My fascination for this book probably stemmed from watching a tv-series: 'Godfather of Harlem' (starring a.o. Forest Whitaker and Nigel Thatch). And indeed Bumpy Johnson and Malcolm X get mentioned. So I mentioned this book to my wife as a possible birthday gift recently and am very glad my wife followed up on the suggestion! www.theguardian.com/books/2021/- -/harlem-shuffle-by-colson-whitehead [27DEC2021]
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MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! ![]() Hopefully after shovelling snow and shit, 2022 will reappear as the reality formerly known as NORMAL. [25DEC2021]
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FORTITUDE SEASON 3 | CRIME FICTION DRAMA TV-SERIES
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Season 3 is the closing chapter of this remarkable dramatic thriller series in an unusal setting: the high arctic. And it isn't the only thing unusual ingredient: it has to do with a mutating virus (how appropriate in these days of the Covid-19 pandemic) stemming from a defrosted mammal in the first season Sheriff Dan Anderssen (a role by Richard Dormer) is still a key player, though his infection and survival by the virus becomes more apparent and outlandish. Governor Hildur Odegard (Sofie Gråbøl makes a reappearance, as a ghost accompanying Sheriff Dan). www.imdb.com/title/- - -season_3 [25DEC2021]
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ANNIKA, SERIES 1 | TV-SERIES CRIME FICTION DRAMA I ![]() 'Annika' is a British crime drama tv-series, based on the BBC Radio 4 drama 'Annika Stranded'.The 1st episode aired on 17Aug2021. Annika is of Norwegian ancestry, mirroring the original radio series. Something on the narrative (6 independent episodes): Much of the filming took place in Glasow. Nicole was photographed filming on a police rib boat on the River Clyde in February 2021, and a Marine Homicide Unit vehicle was pictured on Bridge Street, by Glasgow Bridge. Nicola Walker again plays a masterful role, and I love how she pauzes and adress the viewer with quotes from classics and her personal considerations. Walker never put a foot a wrong since I watched her on 'Spooks' and the 4 series of 'Unforgotten'. She ranks among the greats with a.o. Olivia Colman and Kate Winslet. en.wikipedia.org:_Annika_(TV_series) [21DEC2021]
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GAASPERPLAS PARK | WALKABOUT HISTORY I
Floriade (EXPO) 1982 was a garden festival held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The 2nd Amsterdam Floriade was held from 08Apr-10Oct1982. Earlier this year a plan was introduced to restructure the park in 2022: 40 years after the creation of the Gaasperplas it is time to tackle the park so that it can last for another 40 years. en.wikipedia.org:_Floriade_1982 [20DEC2021]
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FIRST STEPS WITH PANASONIC FZ1000 II| STREETPHOTOGRAPHY
Panick buying as tonight we're expected to transfer from mild lockdown to full lockdown! [18DEC2021]
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FIRST STEPS WITH EOS R6 | PHOTOGRAPHY
The weather remained rainy, cold and grey, but last evening we got a nice spell of mist. So out I went! And the new camera felt very good, even while I hadn't paid much attention to the manual yet. All taken on <P>... for professional! [17DEC2021]
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SHETLAND, SEASON 6 | CRIME FICTION DRAMA TV-SERIES The continued appeal of 'Shetland' is the way its human dramas are entwined with the dramatic and haunting landscape, with each facet feeding into the other. This 6th series opens with people gathered for the burial of Jimmy’s morther. We are witness to Perez’s pain as while mouring the loss of his mother, he watches his father’s decline into dementia. Shetland, Series 6, BBC One review. [14DEC2021]
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MARE OF EASTTOWN | CRIME FICTION DRAMA TV-SERIES 'Mare of Easttown' is an American crime drama tv-series, created by Brad Ingelsby for HBO. The series premiered on 18Apr2021, consisting of 7 episodes. Narrative: en.wikipedia.org:_Mare_of_Easttown [28NOV2021]
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PARIS by ROBERT FRANK | PHOTOBOOK PHOTOGRAPHY Robert Frank was made famous by his massive book The Americans, which I purchased in a fine edition many years ago. I love his work and since I was in Paris 2 months ago, visiting photo exhibitions and doing some street photography, this work by him titled 'Paris' (published by Steidl in 2008) was an inevitable purchase for me. This publication of 'Paris' (80 photographs reproduced here) marks the first time that the significant body of photographs which Robert Frank made in Paris in the early 1950s have been brought together in a single book. bintphotobooks.blogspot.com/2015/03/views-reviews-paris-robert-frank [24NOV2021]
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TAXI, JOURNEY THROUGH MY WINDOWS 1977-1987 by JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ
The idea of making photographs while driving a cab is certainly not a novel idea. Ryan Weideman, Michael Goldfarb, David Bradford, and Matt Weber all come to mind. Joseph Rodriguez is yet another member of this club. I very much like Rodriguez’s photography, like the gritty content. Some are clearly very candid and others imply at least some tacit cooperation from the subject. I've read some objectio to the text, captions, in the book. It does not bother me. Sure, photography books should contain photography and interpretation should be left to the reader. But I am also a data person, so I'm ok with it, others might not. Rodriguez equally loves the beautiful bits and the ugly bits of what makes us human – a vital skill for a documentary photographer. This is the first time I came across his work, I'll keep my eyes out for more. Page Count: 132 | c.70 photographs [24NOV2021]
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THE SHADOW KNOWS by LEE FRIENDLANDER | PHOTOBOOK PHOTOGRAPHY
'The Shadow Knows' is a remarkable collection of work by Lee Friedlander, my first of books by him. Just the idea, while so obvious out there, is fascinating. Friedlander (b.14July1934-) is an American photographer and has been producing fantastic and original photography for a very long time. One aspect of this work that jumps out is the very pleasant sense of humor, though I am somewhat uncomfortable about his shadow falling over a young woman sunbathing in a bikini (but that may be the sign of the times). His work is in many acclaimed galleries and museums and he is considered a master photographer of his age. streetphotography.com/the-shadow-knows-by-lee-friedlander/ [23NOV2021]
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HOLIDAYS IN HELL by P.J. O'ROURKE | BOOKS COMEDY TRAVEL ![]() P.J. O'Rourke is a celebrated political humorists and has been hailed as 'the funniest writer in America by both Time and The Wall Street Journal. The man from Ohio travels to hellholes around the globe in Holidays in Hell, looking for trouble, the truth, and a good time. P. J. O’Rourke has written 19 books on subjects as diverse as politics and cars and etiquette and economics. He lives in rural New England, as far away from the things he writes about as he can get. groveatlantic.com/book/holidays-in-hell/ [23NOV2021]
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TOM STODDART R.I.P. | PHOTOGRAPHER PHOTOJOURNALISM ![]() The media was saddened to report the death of Tom Stoddart, reportedly one of the finest documentary photographers and photojournalists the UK has ever produced. Tom Stoddart began his photographic career on local newspapers in his beloved North East, before moving to London and building a solid reputation as a photojournalist, most notably for his coverage of Desert Storm. His international frontline assignments included almost every major conflict and natural disaster over four decades, from wars to earthquakes and from the fall of the Berlin Wall to pandemics. In 1992 he was seriously injured in heavy fighting in Bosnia. After a year of recovery, he produced a powerful feature on the aftermath of the Mississippi floods and, later that year, an award-winning photo-essay on the harsh training regime of Chinese Olympic Child Gymnasts. In December 1993, Stoddart returned to Sarajevo to report on the hardship of life in the city during a freezing winter under siege. Tom’s acclaimed in-depth work on the HIV/AIDS pandemic blighting sub-Saharan Africa won the POY World Understanding Award in 2003. Stoddart is the recipient of Lifetime Achievement awards from this peers and his new book, Extraordinary Women: Images of Courage, Endurance and Defiance will be published in October 2020 by ACC Art Books and Iconic Images. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/- - -/remembering-tom-stoddart
[23NOV2021]
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LETTERS FROM A STOIC: SENECA | PHILOSOPHY BOOKS ![]() Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Elder (c. 54 BC – c. 39 AD), also known (less correctly) as Seneca the Rhetorician, was a Roman writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Corduba, Hispania. He was a prominent Roman philosopher and playwright who published several essential works about Stoicism. He is considered one of the three key Stoic philosophers (alongside Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus), counseled Emperor Nero, and is often credited with rendering Stoicism more accessible to a larger audience than his counterparts. In basic terms, Stoicism teaches us that if we have the essentials and a strong inner spirit, we can radically accept and endure whatever circumstances the universe throws at us. 'Letters from a Stoic', which Seneca wrote toward the end of his life from approximately 63 AD to 65 AD, expands upon these lessons. How can we cope when life's events seem beyond our control? These words of consolation and inspiration from the three great Stoic philosophers - Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius - offer ancient wisdom on how to face life's adversities and live well in the world. Some quotes I particularly enjoy: This is an exquisite publication in the superb Penguin Classics series, by Penguin Random Books; en.wikipedia.org:_Seneca_the_Elder [14NOV2021]
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THE PEMBROKESHIRE MURDERS | #TRUE_CRIME ![]() The Pembrokeshire Murders is a British 3-part television drama miniseries, based on the Pembrokeshire murders by Welsh serial killer John Cooper. The drama is the 13th in a series of ITV mini-series featuring notorious British murder cases of the past two centuries, following on from This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (2000), Shipman (2002), A Is for Acid (2002), The Brides in the Bath (2003), See No Evil: The Moors Murders (2006), Appropriate Adult (2011), Dark Angel, In Plain Sight (both 2016), Little Boy Blue (2017), Manhunt (2019), White House Farm, and Des (both 2020). Main cast: The Pembrokeshire Murders - Wikipedia [13NOV2021]
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THE ONGOING MOMENT by GEOFF DYER | PHOTOGRAPHY ![]() The Ongoing Moment by Geoff Dyer (on photography) Focusing on the ways in which canonical figures like Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Walker Evans, Andre Kertesz, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Diane Arbus and William Eggleston have photographed the same things – barbershops, benches, hands, hats, roads, signs – Geoff Dyer seeks to identify their signature styles. Dyer's lightness in writing and his dry humour makes this book easily readable. An fine journey through the history of photography, with an excellent selection of photographs included too. There is much to be inspired by. Geoff Dyer (b.05Jun58) is an English writer. He has authored a number of novels and books of non-fiction, which have won literary awards and been translated into 24 languages. Dyer has written the following genre-defying titles: But Beautiful (on jazz); The Missing of the Somme (on the memorialization of the First World War); Out of Sheer Rage (about D. H. Lawrence); Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It; The Ongoing Moment (on photography); Zona (about Andrei Tarkovsky's 1979 film Stalker); and Broadsword Calling Danny Boy (about Brian G. Hutton's 1968 film Where Eagles Dare). Dyer was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2005. In 2014 he was elected as an Honorary Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. geoffdyer.com/books/the-ongoing-moment/ [12NOV2021]
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THE SHADOW LINE | TV-SERIES CRIME FICTION DRAMA ![]() The Shadow Line is a 8-part British tv-series produced for BBC Two. We see Jonah Gabriel (Chiwetel Ejiofor) returning to the policeforce, albeit with a bullet stuck in his head: he survived a shooting in which his police partner was killed. Jonah does not remember a thing of the event, nor why he was there; many of his colleagues and his superiors think this is too convenient for Jonah. Jonah does find a briefcase hidden in a closet at home with a large amount of cash in it, also a mystery to him and decides to keep it hidden. The cast is top of the line and the screenplay compelling and unnerving. The Shadow Line (TV Mini Series 2011) - IMDb [12NOV2021]
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SAINT MARTIN's DAY - SINT MAARTEN | TRADITION CULTURE HISTORY
Saint Martin's Day, also called the Funeral of Saint Martin, Martinstag or Martinmas, as well as Old Halloween and Old Hallowmas Eve, is the Funeral day of Saint Martin of Tours (else Martin le Miséricordieux) and is celebrated on 11 November each year in many countries. en.wikipedia.org:_St._Martin's_Day [11NOV2021]
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LAWRENCE SCHWARTZWALD R.I.P. | PHOTOGRAPHER OBITUARY
From his website: The subjects in 'the Art of Reading' are mostly average New Yorkers--sunbathers, a bus driver, shoeshine men, subway passengers, denizens of bookshops and cafes--but also artists (most notably Amy Winehouse at Manhattan's now-closed all-night diner Florent). I'd hoped to visit New York City this year (been there before but this time more for streetphotography rather than the Big Apple's famous locations). And to meet Lawrence!
www.lawrenceschwartzwald.com/ [11NOV2021]
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OUTLIER | TV-SERIES CRIME FICTION DRAMA ![]() A young girl is found killed at a camping resort and criminal psychologist Maja Angell is convinced, from her boyfriend's home in London (where she is finalizing her thesis on serial killers), that the police have arrested the wrong man. The narrative of finding the serial killer while another young girl disappears, and Maja tries to recover the reason of her trauma and troubled childhood, it all slowly comes together. Outlier (TV Series 2020– ) - IMDb [07NOV2021]
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ED McBAIN OMNIBUS | BOOKS CRIME FICTION ![]() Ed McBain 87th Precinct omnibus 'Like Love' | 'Lady, Lady I Did It! | 'The Empty Hours' | 'Storm' Evan Hunter (b.15Oct1926 – d.06Jul2005) was an American author and screenwriter who also wrote under a number of pen names, most notably Ed McBain, used for most of his crime fiction. Salvatore Lombino was born and raised in New York City. He lived in East Harlem until age 12, when his family moved to the Bronx. Ed McBain, his best known pseudonym, was first used with Cop Hater (1956), the first novel in the 87th Precinct crime series. Until his death, McBain's 87th Precinct novels appeared at a rate of approximately one or two novels a year. The 87th Precinct novels It takes place in a fictional section of New York City called Isola, which was based on Manhattan. Similarly, instead of using the real names of the NYC boroughs, McBain has created his own boroughs; Calm’s Point (based on Brooklyn), Majesta (Queens), Riverhead (Bronx) and Bethtown (Staten Island). Ed McBain Omnibus (All 87th Precinct stories) – Like Love (1962; UK: 1981) | Lady, Lady I Did It (1961; UK: 1980) | The Empty Hours (1962; UK: 1981) plus an extra short story 'Storm' in which Cotton Hawes travels with a girlfriend to a ski resort and gets involved in a murder on the ski slopes. en.wikipedia.org:_Evan_Hunter [07NOV2021]
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PARIS by ROBERT FRANK | PHOTOBOOKS PHOTOGRAPHY 'PARIS' is the first time that the significant body of photographs which Robert Frank made in Paris, in the early 1950's, have been brought together in a single book. His visit to Paris in 1951 was his 2nd return to Europe after he had settled in New York City in 1947 and some of the images he made during that visit have become iconic in the history of the medium. The 80 photographs selected by Robert Frank and Ute Eskildsen suggest that Frank's experience of the new world had sharpened his eye for European urbanism. He saw the city's streets as a stage for human activity and focused particularly on the flower sellers. His work clearly references Atget and invokes the tradition of the flaneur. Robert Frank (b.09Nov1924 – d.09Sep2019) was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. 160 pages |
19 x 22.5 cm [22OCT2021]
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TAXI, JOURNEY THROUGH MY WINDOWS 1977-1987 by JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ The idea of making photographs while driving a cab is apparently not a novel idea. I don't know these photographers, but they are mentioned to have worked in that way too: Ryan Weideman, Michael Goldfarb, David Bradford and Matt Weber. I very much like Rodriguez’s photography. Some are clearly very candid and others imply at least some tacit coöperation from the subject. I like this PowerHouse book, they did a wonderful job with this one. 132 Pages | ISBN: 9781576879313 streetphotography.com/taxi-by-joseph-rodriguez/ [21OCT2021]
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STREET PHOTOGRAPHY by DAVID GIBSON | PHOTOGRAPHY STREETPHOTOGRAPHY
David Gibson has been writing about photography for some time. He's also a photographer himself. The book, as a whole, is an admirable stab at what I am sure was no easy project. The book opens with some of the usual suspects – Edward Steichen, HCB, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, Joel Meyerowitz, William Klein, Vivian Maier, Diane Arbus, and Mary Ellen Mark. There's a good number of more international names included in the anthology – Werner Bischof, Thomaz Farkas, Ferdinando Scianna, Raghu Rai, and Ramon Masats, to name but a few. streetphotography.com/book-review-street-photography- - -/ [19OCT2021]
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STREET PHOTOGRAPHY NOW | PHOTOGRAPHY STREETPHOTOGRAPHY
Street photographers aim to capture the beauty of everyday (street)life. 'Street Photography Now' showcases the work of 46 photographers, all recognised for their inspirational depictions of the day-to-day. It is impossible to select a 'Best Of'-selection with photographers such as Jeff Mermelstein, Joel Meyerowitz, Martin Parr, Raghu Rai, Michael Wolf and those menTioned earlier, but I have selected a few that are closest to my heart and are not among the most iconic and obvious. With 301 images to look through and multiple conversations between the photographers on the genre, [19OCT2021]
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IN THE LIGHT OF CUYP at DORDRECHT MUSEUM | ART PAINTINGS Aelbert Cuyp was born in Dordrecht on 20 October 1620, and died there on 15 November 1691. Aelbert Cuyp's Dutch landscapes are characterised by a warm, golden glow. Cuyp borrowed it from artists who had visited Italy, such as Jan Both. Cuyp himself never travelled abroad. In addition to almost 30 of Cuyp's most important paintings - including from England and America - one can admire here for the duration extensive work by British painters who were inspired by Cuyp. The story of Dordrecht's greatest painter is unique. Cuyp was a completely local artist in his time, virtually unknown outside his hometown. 'In the light of Cuyp' shows many works not previously shown in the Netherlands by British artists such as Richard Wilson, Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, J.M.W.Turner, Richard Parkes Bonington, Augustus Wall Callcott and John Crome. www.dordrechtsmuseum.nl/english/collection/ [19OCT2021]
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BROS. DE WITT | HISTORY ![]() Statue in Dordrecht of Johan & Cornelis de Witt
en.wikipedia.org:_Cornelis_de_Witt [19OCT2021]
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DORDRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS | HISTORY Dordrecht, historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, pronounced 'Dort', The name Dordrecht comes from Thuredriht (circa 1120), Thuredrecht (ca. 1200). The name seems to mean 'thoroughfare'; a ship-canal or -river through which ships were pulled by rope from one river to another, as here from the Dubbel to the Merwede, or vice versa. The city was formed along the Thure river, in the midst of peat swamps. This river was a branch of the river Dubbel, which is part of the massive Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta complex. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Dordrecht developed into an important market city because of its strategic location. It traded primarily in wine, wood and cereals. Dordrecht was made even more important when it was given staple right in 1299. [19OCT2021]
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AREND MAARTENSHOF IN DORDRECHT | HISTORY
NL.wikipedia.org:_Arend_Maartenshof [15OCT2021]
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FACTFULNESS by HANS ROSLING | BOOKS WORLD
![]() Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think is a 2018 book by Swedish physician, professor of international health at Karolinska Institute and statistician Hans Rosling with his son Ola Rosling and daughter-in-law Anna Rosling Rönnlund. Hans Rosling (b.27Jul1948 – d.07Feb2017) was a Swedish physician (he also did field work in Africa), academic, and public speaker. Rosling's son, Ola Rosling, built the Trendalyzer software to animate data compiled by the UN and the World Bank that helped him explain the world with graphics. In March 2007, Google acquired the Trendalyzer software with the intention to scale it up and make it freely available for public statistics. In 2008, Google made available a Motion Chart Google Gadget and in 2009 the Public Data Explorer. Rosling recommends thinking about the world as divided into four levels based on income brackets (rather than the prototypical developed/developing framework) and suggests ten instincts that prevent us from seeing real progress in the world. When he was 20, in 1968, doctors told Rosling that there was something wrong with his liver and as a consequence, he stopped drinking alcohol. Aged 29, with a young family, he had testicular cancer which was successfully treated. [13OCT2021]
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LONDON UNDERGROUND 1970-1980 by MIKE GOLDWATER | PHOTOBOOK Back in the 1970s, when it was still acceptable to talk, kiss and even smoke on the London Underground, Mike Goldwater spent years documenting chance moments of intimacy and humour across this iconic network of tunnels that live beneath the capital. Mike Goldwater picked up a camera as a boy and has rarely been without one since.
His London Underground pictures were his first project. ISBN: 978-1-910566-61-9 hoxtonminipress.com/- - -/london-underground-1970-1980 [12OCT2021]
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NEW YORK by ELLIOTT ERWITT | PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOBOOKS
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Born in Paris in 1928 to Russian parents, Erwitt spent his childhood in Milan, then emigrated to the US, via France, with his family in 1939. As a teenager living in Hollywood, he developed an interest in photography and worked in a commercial darkroom before experimenting with photography at Los Angeles City College. In 1948 he moved to New York and exchanged janitorial work for film classes at the New School for Social Research. "To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” — Elliott Erwitt www.all-about-photo.com/photographers/- - -/elliott-erwitt [12OCT2021]
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THE PROMISE (LA PROMESSE) | TV-SERIES CRIME FICTION DRAMA ![]() In the heart of the Landes region (France), with the great storm of 1999 raging, 11-year-old Charlotte Meyer vanishes without a trace. Police Captain Pierre Castaing, the head of the investigation, is forced to release his prime suspect, Serge Fouquet, for lack of evidence. [12OCT2021]
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