clayton james cubitt's blog
September 27, 2005 8:21 AM   Subscribe

Clayton James Cubitt's Blog
posted by cusack (36 comments total)
 
OK, first time post... and it's only a single link and it's not cleverly labeled, but i think this is some pretty compelling stuff.
posted by cusack at 8:21 AM on September 27, 2005


Many of the pictures are quite good, although they suffer from the accompanying writing.

I like this one: "Is that all you got?"
posted by OmieWise at 8:27 AM on September 27, 2005


"All that's left of Pearlington's Catholic church is this chipped statue of the Virgin Mary, standing atop the steps that once led to its front door, a tattered songbook resting against her feet. Behind her you can see the foundation where it once stood. After the storm surge subsided the entire church, torn apart, came to rest in the two-lane county highway that serves as Pearlington's main street.

"A few days later, parishioners moved Mary under a tree nearby, and arrayed a dozen or so folding chairs around her for Sunday services."

I don't object to the accompanying writing. Good post.
posted by nthdegx at 8:29 AM on September 27, 2005


Also, "quite good" hardly does some of the magnificent photographs justice. Scroll down for the portraits.
posted by nthdegx at 8:32 AM on September 27, 2005


Single link or not, this is a great post.
posted by unreason at 8:33 AM on September 27, 2005


Earlier this year, he took his life's savings and bought his mother a new home...

My mom grew up poorer than poor in New Orleans, in a shotgun shack on McKain Street, with nine people living in three rooms. Christmas was Toys for Tots, dental care was having their teeth removed at Charity Hospital. Through it all they stuck together, and slowly over the course of years managed to work for a slightly better life, even if it was still below the poverty line, or the very shaky bottom rung of middle class. My mom raised me and my little brother alone, working three jobs, and I promised myself I'd take care of her when I could. This March I was finally able to make good on that promise, when I used my life savings to buy her a humble trailer she had fallen in love with in Mississippi, and gave it to her for my birthday. It was the first thing she'd ever owned, aside from junker cars. She named her humble trailer "Eden", and was as happy as I've ever seen her, which is pretty damn happy.

It was totally devastated in the hurricane. He's selling prints to help out his family.

Hate to nitpick your link, but I really wish it was better. I don't think it does Clayton justice, and it will be unfortunate if people fail to click through because they think it's just another photography site. Thank you for posting it, though :)
posted by Hankins at 8:40 AM on September 27, 2005


nthdegx writes "Also, 'quite good' hardly does some of the magnificent photographs justice. Scroll down for the portraits."

I like the link, I even linked to something specific that I enjoyed. My qualifications are mine alone and don't contrast with that basic liking.
posted by OmieWise at 8:44 AM on September 27, 2005


it will be unfortunate if people fail to click through because they think it's just another photography site.

From the link, it looks like just another average blog. I only clicked through because of the comments here, and I agree that some of these photos are great.

How did he get the circular gradient effect in some of the portraits? Backlighting with the sun behind the people? Maybe with a polarizing filter?
posted by stopgap at 8:47 AM on September 27, 2005


and the music's nice too. Very moving blog, Mr. Cubitt.
posted by MotherTucker at 8:50 AM on September 27, 2005


Many of the pictures are quite good, although they suffer from the accompanying writing.

Thanks for that, Roger Ebert. "accompanying writing" is a bit of a clumsy phrase, isn't it?
posted by spock at 8:51 AM on September 27, 2005


hmmm... i guess i was trying to say more by saying less? glad it seems to be going over well, at least...
posted by cusack at 8:51 AM on September 27, 2005


Don't apologize for what you find interesitng. Nice Post.
posted by srboisvert at 8:52 AM on September 27, 2005


Gorgeous. Saw the photo of the crying mom a few days ago, but didn't know where it came from.
posted by fungible at 9:04 AM on September 27, 2005


This is a great post, especially for a first go round! Poignant, interesting, not widely known, this is the type of "best of the web" that MeFi looks for. No need for added commentary. Thanks, more please.
posted by Pollomacho at 9:06 AM on September 27, 2005


spock writes "'accompanying writing' is a bit of a clumsy phrase, isn't it?"

Yeah, I know. I was trying to figure out a way to compliment the post without also saying that the writing sucks. Did you have an opinion on the post, Roeper?
posted by OmieWise at 9:12 AM on September 27, 2005


Good one.
posted by 327.ca at 9:14 AM on September 27, 2005


I gotta say, the composition in these photos isn't bad, but a lot of them are as much (or more) photoshop than photography.
posted by stenseng at 9:17 AM on September 27, 2005


but a lot of them are as much (or more) photoshop than photography.

And that makes a difference how?
posted by undule at 9:55 AM on September 27, 2005


Um, wow.

Being Poor Is Forever Swimming Through Petrol

Brilliant.
posted by JeffK at 10:00 AM on September 27, 2005


a lot of them are as much (or more) photoshop than photography.

Oh, so those gradients were a Photoshop effect. I just assumed that there was some photographic trick going on. Not so impressive then, but it's still a neat effect.
posted by stopgap at 10:02 AM on September 27, 2005


Best of the web, indeed.
posted by Heminator at 10:03 AM on September 27, 2005


this is a total derail, I admit, but comments like this are curious to me:
Oh, so those gradients were a Photoshop effect Not so impressive then, but it's still a neat effect.

What is the difference, as per quality of the image, it's metaphoric value, etc, than if the fellow had simply dodged and burned in the darkroom to achieve the effect?
posted by undule at 10:33 AM on September 27, 2005


Wow. I didn't read that much of the writing, some of the captions were compelling.
posted by delmoi at 10:33 AM on September 27, 2005


You should add "Katrina" as a tag to make this post easier to find.
posted by delmoi at 10:40 AM on September 27, 2005


Cubitt is perhaps better known (especially to those of you who read Nerve) by his alias Siege.
posted by lia at 10:58 AM on September 27, 2005


This post shows the devastation I was referring to here.

Thank you for this.
posted by ColdChef at 11:01 AM on September 27, 2005


What is the difference, as per quality of the image, it's metaphoric value, etc, than if the fellow had simply dodged and burned in the darkroom to achieve the effect?



Well, the difference is, and I work with photoshop daily, and am guilty of this myself, that one can take what is really a somewhat mediocre photo, if you're going for this bleach-bypass push the levels hyper-realistic effect, and turn it into something that is I guess, visually striking and unusual, but it's not because it actually happened that way...

I'm trying to figure how to best put it... the difference is that if you look at an ansel adams, or a robert capa, sure, they were likely retouched to an extent, but they'd be really good photos either way. Some of these... they wouldn't so much.

There's just this trend to misuse digital tools and make everything look like a nike commercial, and it kinda bugs me, because it's to an extent replacing photographic skill, finding the amazing shots, the complicated compositions, the interesting lighting, and to an extent, faking a lot of it "in post."

Not to say that the guy isn't a decent photographer, but I'd wager seeing these before the HEAVY retouching, would be a bit of a letdown.
posted by stenseng at 11:17 AM on September 27, 2005


lia's link extremely NSFW if not logged in.
posted by nthdegx at 11:36 AM on September 27, 2005


Clayton James Cubitt also keeps a blog on Nerve.com.

(free registration req'd to see most of the pictures, paid registration req'd to see the more "risque" ones)
posted by afroblanca at 11:53 AM on September 27, 2005


lia's link extremely NSFW if not logged in.

Aren't STARs safe where you work?
heh
posted by spock at 11:55 AM on September 27, 2005


(looks like Siege's Nerve blog has already been linked to. Yeah, lots of his stuff is definitely NSFW. High quality, though.)
posted by afroblanca at 11:57 AM on September 27, 2005


There was a lot of truth in that blog. I was glad to have seen it.

Nits. Stenseng, St. Ansel never retouched photographs. They
were manipulated during printing (dodging and burning),
but as a member of F64, anything else was anathema.
posted by the Real Dan at 12:02 PM on September 27, 2005


This is powerful, good and compelling.

I particularly like the photo Broken Jesus and Michael Brown and George Bush (and all the other asshat politicos posing for photos) should be forced to look at this picture of all his mother and brother have left.
posted by fenriq at 2:00 PM on September 27, 2005


I was just about to post this same link! Of particular note in this blog was this link to a prescient and evocative animation made well before the hurricane. If you're just looking at the images, you might well miss it.
posted by humannature at 7:50 PM on September 27, 2005


There is a need for supplies.
posted by ColdChef at 9:38 PM on September 29, 2005


The internet saved my family.
posted by ColdChef at 2:41 PM on October 25, 2005


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