“A Day in the Life of America” was a classic bait-and-switch maneuver, directing the public gaze toward nonsense images while the Reagan administration savagely attacked ordinary working people. Lacking spontaneity, decontextualized, and bordering on puffery, the artless Day in the Life of America remains arguably the most embarrassing collection of images in the annals of photography. […]
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Follow me on Mastodon:
@adcoleman@hcommons.social
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With great hubris, Rick Smolan and David Cohen were going to reinvent photojournalism. The first tactic of this radical makeover: ignore conventional reportage by dispersing photographers to randomly selected venues and inviting them to burn as much film as possible in a 24-hour period. […] The Collins “Day in the Life of …” series of books was the first spectacular disruption aimed at transforming professional photographers into undervalued content providers, the unfortunate state of affairs that today confronts those wishing to make a career of making images. […] I’ve long since abandoned the fantasy that a “photography community” exists. I play the hand I’m dealt. Reluctantly, I accept the evaporation of the horizontal platform for what I do and settle for this vertical substitute. So let’s call this blog aspirationally horizontal/vertical but effectively vertical. […] |
 SPJ Research Award 2014All content of this publication is © copyright 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 by A. D. Coleman unless otherwise noted. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without prior written permission. All photos copyright by the individual photographers. "Fair use" allows quotation of excerpts of textual material from this site for educational and other noncommercial purposes.
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Kremlingate: The Visuals (1)
This book has already done, and will continue to do, irreparable damage to the image of the Trump Gang, individually and collectively. The image of Trump and his enablers and co-conspirators as a reckless, witless Gang That Couldn’t Think Straight bumbling their way into treason, deftly limned here by Michael Wolff, will endure. […]