Comments on: Lewd and Lurid

Lewd and Lurid

crunchland — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 05:50:41 -0800

By: amberglow

amberglow — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 05:58:38 -0800

ooooo....thanks crunch and it's weird but they have lots of similarities to hollywood publicity photos from back then too...flattering lighting and poses for the most part (Helen Miller and John Paine especially), and the blind GI with his seeing eye dog could be directly from a movie still.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 06:11:41 -0800

the arrow is certainly helpful.

By: monkeyman

monkeyman — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 06:13:04 -0800

Makes me think of James Ellroy novels.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 06:13:17 -0800

Check out the early photoshopping techniques on the last page.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 06:21:23 -0800

lewd and lurid! two of my favorite words.

By: psychotic_venom

psychotic_venom — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 06:25:23 -0800

Crazy! This one looks particularly bizarre. Why were these pictures done this way?

By: Katemonkey

Katemonkey — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 06:42:29 -0800

Crazy! This one looks particularly bizarre. Why were these pictures done this way? Well, just judging by how square it is, the editor decided that they only wanted a headshot of one of the women, and therefore had to paint out (literally) the other woman. That's a pretty well done one, though. This one just makes me cringe slightly.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 07:23:34 -0800

Crunch, that rocked. Thank you. I found myself trying to figure out the backstory of the more bizarre ones, the real details probably lost to history. Weegee would have loved that exhibit.

By: Vidiot

Vidiot — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 08:03:12 -0800

[this is good]

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 08:28:03 -0800

[yes it is] Is it my impression or are these photographs a good deal better as photographs than what passes for tabloid photojournalism nowadays?

By: crunchland

crunchland — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 08:45:19 -0800

actually, the more I study the photos, the more retouching I find. This photo, for example, which depicts an 11-year old boy who is described as "all bones and little flesh." It's apparent that the shadows of his ribs have been accentuated to prove the point.

By: Slithy_Tove

Slithy_Tove — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 08:46:36 -0800

Miguel, I agree... but a lot of them look awfully posed to me. And worse. For example, this one has clearly been 'photoshopped' to make the kid's ribs look more prominent, and this one looks like a Hollywood set with Hollywood lighting: what's with that background? Or the remarkably even lighting of the figures? And was stuff like this really printed in the newspaper? Even if it wasn't, I still think our standards of even tabloid squeamishness have become a lot more narrow in the past half-century. On preview: ack, crunchland, ya beat me to it.

By: deathofme

deathofme — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 12:35:21 -0800

My heart is breaking that i can't take this fellow(?) home with me. If only i was born 46 years earlier. I can't even determine what he is made of. Woe is me.

By: Jughead

Jughead — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 12:38:14 -0800

[T]his one looks like a Hollywood set with Hollywood lighting: what's with that background? Or the remarkably even lighting of the figures? I don't think this particular shot was staged at all; from the shadow that falls across the train tracks in the background, this was probably taken under a bridge or overpass. In that instance, the photographer would have to use a flash. Otherwise, the figures in the foreground would be nothing but silhouettes. (Actually, even in the open on a sunny day most pros use "fill flash" to get rid of the dark shadows resulting from overhead light). I admit that the background does look a bit odd in contrast, but not entirely inconsistent with those old, Graflex plate cameras then favoured by the press... Oh yeah, cool link! And thank the good Lord for Photoshop!

By: KevinSkomsvold

KevinSkomsvold — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 13:40:42 -0800

A drain of death January 19, 1952 Saturday Shirking any sense of deja vu, our photographer makes Michael Lee Carr, 5, stand dangerously close to this cliff and point to the storm drain in Compton where his playmate, Terry Hall, 3½, fell and was swept away during the flood late yesterday. His body was found in the Los Angeles river. Nowadays, the photographer whould be sued for child endangerment.

By: KevinSkomsvold

KevinSkomsvold — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 13:41:14 -0800

By: KevinSkomsvold

KevinSkomsvold — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 13:42:35 -0800

doublepost monster on the loose. *slaps forehead*

By: smrtsch

smrtsch — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 14:39:42 -0800

Mrs. Melba Karnes June 16, 1948 Wednesday Cult member

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 19:58:10 -0800

Night of the Living Dead cult