Announcing my 2025/2026 photography masterclass

Yukio Mishima would have approved

My son loves literature a little differently than me, but he loves it nevertheless

Little anecdote about Rick Steves (whom I’ve never met): I was it Italy (Cortona), and on my final day at the hotel, I saw that there was a sign for a Rick Steves tour group. Naive me got excited so I asked the front desk whether he would be there.

In my experience, UPS was already a pretty unreliable mess before this: random messages, unclear where your stuff was… I avoid them whenever possible. FWIW, I had a Japanese tea store use Fedex (pre-paid extra duties), and that went 100% fine.

"Photography doesn’t really stop time. Sure, in a photograph it does. But time still goes on and on, and at some stage only the pictures are left."

“To know that *looking* (the act, that is, of looking at someone, as one ordinarily does, without any special awareness) was such a proof of the rights of those who are alive, and that this *looking* could also be an expression of cruelty…

“The University of Kyoto has an ongoing tradition during the graduation ceremony where, instead, of a rented cap and gown, it’s Halloween all over again.”

“To know that *looking* (the act, that is, of looking at someone, as one ordinarily does, without any special awareness) was such a proof of the rights of those who are alive, and that this *looking* could also be an expression of cruelty…

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

I wrote a longish article about Richard Avedon and what his photographs of his old, dying father might tell us.

Reminder that @theguardian.com has a partnership with OpenAI, and has of late published a spate of asinine articles that are uncritical in framing, and just read as press releases for the company and for "AI" in general. The headline/implicit framing of this article seems consistent with its biases.

I wrote about Takashi Homma's new Portrait of J, about the idea of portraying a country through its denizens, about how flawed that ideas is (throwing in some thoughts about August Sander), and about what the book instead shows us

"After we rob your house, you are invited to opt out from our Goods Removal Service, after which point we are willing to work with you to come to an arrangement about removing your personal goods. Meet our negotiators, Knuckles and Tiny. They will be assisting in your opting back in."

I wrote about Takashi Homma's new Portrait of J, about the idea of portraying a country through its denizens, about how flawed that ideas is (throwing in some thoughts about August Sander), and about what the book instead shows us

A very cool Japanese mixed-media photography exhibit at the National Asian Art Museum, where every process is many times more complicated than most photo processes, with incredible results

“After the Meiji period, tradition in Japan was dictated by elite authorities—rigid, sterile, and disconnected from youth. We’re just trying to make tradition wild and fun again.”

Have been thinking about continuing relevance of Dada artist George Grosz's political critiques. His scathing 1926 painting "Eclipse of the Sun" portrays alliance between feckless political & military leaders and capitalist financiers. Grosz, branded "degenerate" by the Nazis, fled to the US in 1933

"The MUUS Collection was founded around a decade ago by Michael W. Sonnenfeldt, a US-based property developer turned serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist with a focus on the alternative energy space. (The name MUUS is a stylisation of his initials.)"

"I feel cheated, like if I could go back in time and tell the younger me in high school that all the practice, all the love, and all the hope from your parents and friends for your future gets you is carpal tunnel and poverty, I could have gone into a better job field."

This is well worth your time. It showcases some of the qualities that are essential for a good photographer: a vision, combined with deep knowledge of the medium’s tradition, combined with precise aspirations — and all of that made to work out through a lot of hard, consistent, persistent work.

I wrote about Weegee, the perils of written biographies, and silly me looking for answers that possibly can’t be had

“Martin Parr considers it to be the first artist’s photobook, and I can’t think of a reason to disagree.” I can think of dozens of reasons to disagree, among them that a) Martin Parr doesn’t know what he’s talking about and b) all of the photobooks that came before this, starting with Anna Atkins.

Most impressive story I’ve read in a while. Everything sounds as if someone had just made thing up, but it’s real. Beware, though: the photo of the eye is not for the squeamish.

In my new piece, I'm connecting portraits of German writers by Lotte Jacobi with the country's contemporary culture war around a Leitkultur (dominant culture). That culture war is waged by "conservatives" who insist newcomers have to adapt to their culture (which includes eating sausages).

Still maintaining that we need much better writing about selfies than this

Such a responsible + humble critique: @hawthorne.bsky.social engages with the V&A Storehouse, which has won nearly universally glowing reviews from architecture critics, by engaging with *curators'* reservations — a great example of the value of *rdg outside your immediate field*! :)

The most expensive Graflex flash-gun handle ever

The rule of law’s veneer, covering the most cruel of our human instincts, is thin.

Lotte Jacobi — What a life!

For me, the best book made about the border between the US and Mexico: Arturo Soto's Border Documents, a re-narration of the photographer's father's early life, growing up right at the border