A Vacation In A Non-Existent Country, And More Of The Best Photography Of The Week
Every week, we curate the best new photography and photojournalism on the web, so you can spend your weekend kicking back and enjoying some beautiful pictures. Here are this week's picks:
Hold My Floppy Disc For A Sec, Please
"Guinness Book" is a series of nine photos depicting Mailaender's relatives proudly holding oversized items. We loved the found family photo quality of the images and how ridiculous everyday household items become once you view them at an extremely exaggerated scale.
[See the photos at Vice]
The Most Wanted Nicaraguan Exiles
Nicaraguan exiles come from every walk of life. All of them have one thing in common: if they returned home, they say they would be arrested, tortured or killed. They are some of Ortega's most wanted.
[See the photos at The Guardian]
Vintage Muscle Cars Take Flight In An Homage To Chase Scenes
"There's just nothing more visceral than a car in the air," he [Matthew Porter] says. "It's aspirational and romantic."
[See the photos at Wired]
What Do People In Solitary Confinement Want To See?
Some people requested figurative portraits of themselves. Many asked for images of their families living fantasy lives, Photoshopped into the safety and security—a mansion, a luxury car, wads of cash—that they had been unable to provide. Others asked for quiet glimpses of nature, of animals lolling about or plants shooting up through dirt. "I would like a photo of a cat sitting on a window ledge at dusk, with a beautiful background," an inmate named Otis wrote, in 2013.
[See the photos at The New Yorker]
Abkhazia: A Vacation In A Non-Existent Country
Taken 12 years after the war that displaced tens of thousands and made it a de facto independent state, Jonas Bendiksen's 2005 series shows Abkhazia through the eyes of both the locals and a new wave of snap-happy tourists. It features photographs that look like they could have been taken years apart: images of bombed out apartment blocks without running water and scant electricity next to grand seaside hotels where visitors — dressed head-to-toe in holiday attire — are just checking in.
[See the photos at Magnum Photos]
The Trees Growing In Unusual Places
"There is a disturbing quality to the photographs though, as if the plants are asking for help or to be moved from their locations".
[See the photos at iGNANT]
Inside Hungary's Military-Themed Summer Camps
"I'm a pacifist," says Máté Bartha of his views on the military. "I don't think violence is necessary, but it does interest me." For a year and a half, Bartha has photographed summer camps organised by the Hungarian NGO Home Defence School, an institution committed to teaching discipline, patriotism and camaraderie to teenagers in a society that they believe has become slothful and disconnected.
[See the photos at British Journal of Photography]
What A Major Earthquake Would Look Like In LA
In the early morning hours of Jan. 17, 1994, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Southern California in what is now considered one of the most devastating natural disasters in US history.
[See the photos at BuzzFeed]
Who Mows The Lawn At Storm King, New York's Largest Sculpture Park?
It takes a crew of eight to maintain the 500 acres at Storm King Art Center, where art lives in the landscape.
[See the photos at The New York Times]
When An Italian Idyll Is Turned Into A Trash-Choked Nightmare
In March 2019, Italian officials announced that flip-flops would no longer be welcome on the wending walkways that connect the five hillside villages on the Italian Riviera that are known as the Cinque Terre. Furthermore, anyone attempting to saunter the rugged trails in The Official Shoe of Vacation could face fines of up to $2,826.
[See the photos at Topic]
