Pittsburgh (Man cutting grass), 2004 from “a shimmer of possibility ” © Paul Graham/steidlMACK “This picture is actually part of a sequence of photographs I took on the first evening of a two-and-a-half-year trip around America, starting in Pittsburgh in 2004. I was just travelling with no particular purpose, taking photos along the way. This was in the car park in front of the motel where I was staying, and there was this guy cutting the grass of an entire huge field with a very loud old push-mower. A “great shot” is the antithesis of what this work is about. It’s about appreciating the flow of the moment, the rhythm and currents and eddies of life, rather than neatly packaging the world into perfectly formed little jewels. He saw me and lifted his hand at one point, but he didn’t really care. So I kept on taking pictures, with the sun shining directly into the camera. (It’s lovely to do everything that Kodak tell you not to.) In one image from this sequence, he is to the left, then he’s to the right, then he’s wiping his face with a cloth. Then this beautiful moment happened: the sun burst through and the rain came down, and all the raindrops were illuminated in the shaft of light. It was quite extraordinary. I like this shot because, besides the obvious reason of its beauty, it confers a nobility on what the man is doing. He was working with dignity on this unbelievable task - and, with perseverance, he was probably going to get it done. Many moments are mundane and seem worthless, but they form and shape our lives. They are quite different from the Herculean labours and extraordinary moments that photographers are addicted to.” - Paul Graham (Paul Graham’s best shot on the guardian)

Pittsburgh (Man cutting grass), 2004 from “a shimmer of possibility ” © Paul Graham/steidlMACK

“This picture is actually part of a sequence of photographs I took on the first evening of a two-and-a-half-year trip around America, starting in Pittsburgh in 2004. I was just travelling with no particular purpose, taking photos along the way. This was in the car park in front of the motel where I was staying, and there was this guy cutting the grass of an entire huge field with a very loud old push-mower.

A “great shot” is the antithesis of what this work is about. It’s about appreciating the flow of the moment, the rhythm and currents and eddies of life, rather than neatly packaging the world into perfectly formed little jewels.

He saw me and lifted his hand at one point, but he didn’t really care. So I kept on taking pictures, with the sun shining directly into the camera. (It’s lovely to do everything that Kodak tell you not to.)

In one image from this sequence, he is to the left, then he’s to the right, then he’s wiping his face with a cloth. Then this beautiful moment happened: the sun burst through and the rain came down, and all the raindrops were illuminated in the shaft of light. It was quite extraordinary.

I like this shot because, besides the obvious reason of its beauty, it confers a nobility on what the man is doing. He was working with dignity on this unbelievable task - and, with perseverance, he was probably going to get it done. Many moments are mundane and seem worthless, but they form and shape our lives. They are quite different from the Herculean labours and extraordinary moments that photographers are addicted to.” - Paul Graham (Paul Graham’s best shot on the guardian)

@1 year ago with 22 notes
(± )
#Paul Graham #a shimmer of possibility 

I am a big fan of Paul Graham’s “A Shimmer of Possibility”, which was published in 2007 by steidlMACK, 2007. It contains 12 individual books, each a visual short story, which capture the often overlooked poetry of everyday life in the United States. The second edition brings together the 12 books in one single volume at an accessible price.

About his approach Paul Graham said, “I am interested in more elusive and nebulous subject matter. The photography I most respect pulls something out of the ether of nothingness… you can’t sum up the results in a single line. In a way, ‘a shimmer of possibility’ is really about these nothing moments in life.”

“a shimmer of possibility”, single volume, steidlMACK, 2007 © Paul Graham

“I relaxed and recognized that it’s about the moment-before and the moment-after, as much as it’s about the ‘decisive moment’. In shimmer, there’s a series where I’m walking behind two people carrying some boxes of Pepsi on their shoulder, and then the attention flips to a couple waiting at a bus-stop. We just all happened to walk passed them, so I took a picture, then I went back to the walk and the guy carrying the Pepsi. A moment later we passed a little boy playing in his garden, trying to use a plastic bag as a kite. So I took a picture of that, and then returned to the guy with the Pepsi again.” - Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham


To get more insight into ”A Shimmer of Possibility” I highly recommend the article on ASX and the really nicely written book review at 5b4.blogspot.com.

@1 year ago with 2 notes
(± )
#Paul Graham #A Shimmer of Possibility 
Pittsburgh (Man cutting grass), 2004 from “a shimmer of possibility ” © Paul Graham/steidlMACK “This picture is actually part of a sequence of photographs I took on the first evening of a two-and-a-half-year trip around America, starting in Pittsburgh in 2004. I was just travelling with no particular purpose, taking photos along the way. This was in the car park in front of the motel where I was staying, and there was this guy cutting the grass of an entire huge field with a very loud old push-mower. A “great shot” is the antithesis of what this work is about. It’s about appreciating the flow of the moment, the rhythm and currents and eddies of life, rather than neatly packaging the world into perfectly formed little jewels. He saw me and lifted his hand at one point, but he didn’t really care. So I kept on taking pictures, with the sun shining directly into the camera. (It’s lovely to do everything that Kodak tell you not to.) In one image from this sequence, he is to the left, then he’s to the right, then he’s wiping his face with a cloth. Then this beautiful moment happened: the sun burst through and the rain came down, and all the raindrops were illuminated in the shaft of light. It was quite extraordinary. I like this shot because, besides the obvious reason of its beauty, it confers a nobility on what the man is doing. He was working with dignity on this unbelievable task - and, with perseverance, he was probably going to get it done. Many moments are mundane and seem worthless, but they form and shape our lives. They are quite different from the Herculean labours and extraordinary moments that photographers are addicted to.” - Paul Graham (Paul Graham’s best shot on the guardian)
1 year ago
#Paul Graham #a shimmer of possibility 

I am a big fan of Paul Graham’s “A Shimmer of Possibility”, which was published in 2007 by steidlMACK, 2007. It contains 12 individual books, each a visual short story, which capture the often overlooked poetry of everyday life in the United States. The second edition brings together the 12 books in one single volume at an accessible price.

About his approach Paul Graham said, “I am interested in more elusive and nebulous subject matter. The photography I most respect pulls something out of the ether of nothingness… you can’t sum up the results in a single line. In a way, ‘a shimmer of possibility’ is really about these nothing moments in life.”

“a shimmer of possibility”, single volume, steidlMACK, 2007 © Paul Graham

“I relaxed and recognized that it’s about the moment-before and the moment-after, as much as it’s about the ‘decisive moment’. In shimmer, there’s a series where I’m walking behind two people carrying some boxes of Pepsi on their shoulder, and then the attention flips to a couple waiting at a bus-stop. We just all happened to walk passed them, so I took a picture, then I went back to the walk and the guy carrying the Pepsi. A moment later we passed a little boy playing in his garden, trying to use a plastic bag as a kite. So I took a picture of that, and then returned to the guy with the Pepsi again.” - Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham

“a shimmer of possibility”, 2007 © Paul Graham


To get more insight into ”A Shimmer of Possibility” I highly recommend the article on ASX and the really nicely written book review at 5b4.blogspot.com.

1 year ago
#Paul Graham #A Shimmer of Possibility