CAREFREE

Was the woman really as carefree as she appears? Was she putting on an act and as soon as the photo was taken she scowled and stomped off? I'm thinking she might have just danced away, onto the porch, and with a quick wink, disappeared into the house.


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Another warning about WICKER!

I've tried to use my simple forum to provide a warning most people never think about. I'm talking about children and wicker. Oh sure, I've raised red flags in the past, but does anybody listen or are there still children out there being exposed to wicker on a daily basis?

More proof that you should never leave a child alone with wicker. This child is surely suffering from elation. Breaks your heart, doesn't it?

To see more images of children with wicker check the label below for...I hate to say it because it's heartbreaking..."kids with wicker."

Don't say you haven't been warned. It's a category.

Status SYMBOL

A home has always been a status symbol. It says you're able to provide for yourself and others. It allows a person to put down roots and to lay claim to the idea that they belong somewhere. We've gone through a horrendous period where the status symbol had to be larger than you'd ever need. Who'd have ever thought that a fast food joint would become a term used for a home? McMansions...it even sounds ugly and they generally are. There's a pretentiousness to them that I believe in the past was reserved for the extremely wealthy. Will the tacky neighborhoods comprised of McMansions ever be torn down and replaced with modest and useful homes? Once they're built what the heck do you do with them? Fill them with stuff!






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As a collector of vintage snapshots I'm always interested in the shots of people standing/sitting in front of their homes. They make a statement that they have "arrived." I don't know if people still hire photographers to take posed shots in front of their homes. I'm guessing a lot of people that live in McMansions do have shots like this taken, but now it's done to try and rub their "wealth" in the faces of someone else. We have really come off the rails in this country. If you don't believe me just tune into one of those "Housewives of..." somewhere shows where everything that is tacky is celebrated. McMansions of tacky grandeur filled with equally tacky people. Of course, it's also possible that all of the people shown below were tacky in their own time.

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This is my submission for this week to Sepia Saturday.

The LITTLE HOUSE in the TINY FOREST

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"Are you comin' in for supper? 

Or are you goin' to stay outside all night playin' with 

that dang camera?"

AMERICAN GOTHIC meets the Butler Family

American Gothic is such an iconic image. It's been used over and over again as a jumping off point for artists, advertisers, comedians, you name it. Even I once did a knock off showing a man and his dog.

Once in a while when sorting through old snapshots I find something that makes me think of the iconic image. There's just something in the photo that captures a bit of one interpretation of the painting; usually the oddness of it. Such is the case of this photo of the Butler family. It struck me as soon as I saw it, but once home and scanned I was surprised to see the resemblance to Grant Wood.

Think of this as just a study for the painting; the idea not yet fully fleshed out.

I give you the Butler family.

Mother Butler


Father Butler


Daughter Butler...

a Grant Wood lookalike?

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There is just something wonderfully odd about this family "portrait."

DON'T SMILE for daddy

I generally avoid stand and pose shots unless there is something quirky or fun going on. It gets to the point when I'm sorting through a bin that I'm nearly throwing these "say cheese" shots as far away from me as possible. But then...something like this comes along.

Daughter and mother looking as bored as they possibly ever could. Was it a jolly home? Was this photo a fluke? Was there another one taken with both of them looking a little less wax figure-ish?


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