As if you still need to be informed. In monetary wealth perhaps but not in spirit. We present two different scenes taken in 1937 in the midst of the Great Depression. Above is “1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe“; U. S. (September 8,1937). A young couple share a moment on a quiet Sunday. Note the rumble seat.
“Death From Above” – one of the 82nd Airborne Division’s mottos. Pray for our troops. Full collection of “Letters From Vietnam“.
DPI celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019 on October 6. Following my open heart bypass surgery in October 2018 I became even more committed to bringing the best of photojournalism and documentary photography to our viewers. In reviewing the images added to our collection this past year I believe that goal was achieved.
I have never been to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming and probably never will. For me, my “Close Encounter” will forever be Shiprock. In 2003 I was traveling through the Four Corners and to my left about 25 miles distant I could see Shiprock. Even at that distance I will never forget the sight of what appeared to be a sailng ship in the middle of the desert. It was easily recognizable. I never was able to get any closer in my travels.
The perfect shot. Henri Cartier-Bresson would have called this the “decisive moment”.
Enter the real world of teaching. Welcome to a New York City inner city high school classroom. I know. I was there. You could throw billions of dollars at what you make believe is the problem and never come close to solving it. What you see in this photo is not because the teacher was unqualified or lacked preparation for the lesson. Teachers do take all of the blame because they are easy targets. One does not enter a career in teaching for the money. If you don’t care about the kids and what you can give to them you don’t belong teaching.
Two iconic images from the past. The lead photo is “Manhattan Bridge“, c.1919. You can see the Municipal Building through the cables and a trolley entering the scene at the left. Below is “Penn Station“. c.1949.
Truly dread in its day. Obsolete nowadays as are older ships including aircraft carriers sold for pennies on the dollar for scrap. Makes you want to cry, but if not properly equipped with countermeasures they are little more than sitting ducks for new missile technologies.
The Arab Spring, remember? Egyptians protested the Mubarak regime only to get a new one with al-Sisi. Perhaps the moment was lost. Al-Sisi’s problem was the support for the Muslim Brotherhood within the Egyptian population. In a free election they might have gained control so he set about to crush them. Democracy has to be earned as well as the rule of law, and these concepts have never been institutionalized in Egypt. You cannot simply hand democracy to a country and expect it to flourish. Freedom is not free. Now al-Sisi is trying to eliminate the last bastion of the free press in Egypt, Mada Masr in Cairo. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Egypt is among the leading countries in jailing journalists. Read: “Police Raid Egypt’s Last Independent News Outlet” – WSJ (11/25/19). Opportunity lost it seems for the goal of the Arab Spring in Egypt. We can only hope that it is not too late. Revolutions have a life of their own as demonstrated in the French Revolution. L’Ancien Regime was overthrown only to institute Napoleon. Photo for this blog is: “Egyptians Protest in Tahrir“, Cairo, Egypt (July 12, 2011). Photo essay by Joseph Mayton for DPI.
My two favorite actors. Hard to pick one over the other, but only in Hollywood could this happen. In “Heat” (1995) Pacino kills De Niro while in “Righteous Kill” (2008) De Niro returns the favor and kills Pacino. In the real world life is quite different. In the real world the tragedy remains a tragedy: “Homicide on Collins Avenue“; in Miami Beach, Florida (December 14, 1972).