Pray for Maddox Scott Ritch, a missing 6 year old North Carolina boy with autism. He is nonverbal. Our lead photo is “Autistic Child Area“; West Babylon, N. Y. (September 15, 2018). In the rear of the photo there is a foreclosed home. Autism not only affects the child but the entire family. It remains a lifelong condition.
The quotation is from the movie “Hell or High Water” (2016). I believe any attempt by me to explain its significance would be futile. I strongly recommend that you see this movie. See Texas Settlers.
Pray for the victims of Hurricane Florence. We are, all of us, in this together. Today, residents in the Carolinas are suffering, but tomorrow disaster could befall anyone. Do whatever you can to help. Staying silent is not acceptable. The lead photo is not from Hurricane Florence of course, but it does demonstrate the vulnerability of living near flowing water. That includes just about all of us. We call this photo “Sandbags“; U. S. c.1940. As the river is rising will the sandbags hold?
Am I my brother’s keeper? You can turn away if you choose, but to become homeless with all that comes with it is only a paycheck away for many. Unfortunately. Desperate times require desperate measures. The lead photo we call “Feed the Children“; Holbrook, N. Y. (August 23, 2018). This is not about feeding children in a developing country. This is reality on Long Island.
Seen below is a cry for help from a person we choose to leave anonymous, “Rough Times“; Deer Park, N. Y. (September 6, 2018). We could have easily put a face on this situation, but I believe that sometimes an image can be even more powerful without including an individual. Judgment on the individual would be open for discussion. Without a face, the image represents all homeless people and so the magnitude of the problem is multiplied exponentially.
Deer Park, N. Y. (September 6, 2018).
Breaking the rules can be fun. Sometimes what is left unsaid can make more of a statement than what would otherwise be obvious. Take the case of the lead photo, “Farmer Walks Away“; U. S. c.1933 (sepia added). We can only wonder what is going through this farmer’s mind as he walks through his barren field. Imagine the effect the image would have had he been facing the camera. Depending on his expression the difference might be subtle or create a completely alternate setting.
Inspiration for this image has been the work of the great Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado. We hope that he would approve. These oil men, (“Roughnecks“; Texas c.1919), are covered in oil as the well proves to be a gusher. Note the oil spray coming off the drill
Always room for one more. If you do the crime, you’ve got to do the time. No one is above the law. True that Alcatraz is no more than a tourist attraction these days, but it once housed the most notorious criminals in our society. DPI’s prison collection contains more images of Alcatraz as well as other prisons some not so well known. Seen below is an image we call “Workin’ On The Chain Gang” taken in Florida in 1936.
Photo was taken during an anti-Vietnam War rally c. 1969. Funny how what goes around comes around. Education, vigilance and courage are the keys. How better to illustrate the issue than through the innocence of a child.
A scene from a spy thriller or just a gentleman smoking his pipe overlooking the Seine? Imagine the effect of this photo if the pipe was absent. Such a small section of the photo, if missing, would have such a large effect on the overall mood. Perhaps this man was thinking about the future of France as Hitler was consolidating his power in Germany? This photo comes to us from a contributor in Bulgaria.
May the Force be with you. I wanna be a Spaceman. Will our Starship Troopers be similarly outfitted? Hey, it’s a bug planet! A little humor in times like these may help. Probably inspired by Flash Gordon, but that may be going back too far for some of you. Sometimes I wish that they could just beam me up, Scotty.