Amateur hour. Awkward family slideshows, proudly led by hobbyist photographers, in which the host just keeps clicking through vacation photos, ignoring the signals of guests who grew bored after a dozen shots of lobster red bellied youths.
Even worse: picture after picture of the scenery. Mountains, mammals, marsupials, monuments. Images that tell you nothing. At best, they're appropriations of the same pictures you'd find in any guidebook. At worst, they're garish, blurry documents, whose sole purpose is to lay claim, like a shaky Zapruder film. "I was there," the photos say. "I saw that."
As you shoot them, photos of the scenery seem beyond reproach - clinical yet full of the emotion of being there. Eternal, as the scenery is timeless. People, on the other hand, are so tragically moored in the present tense. A week after the trip: "We look so tired," you think. "I wish I'd used sunscreen." Photos of people make everyone cringe.
But go back and look at those vacation photos a decade later, or five decades. The scenery is meaningless - a collection of detritus - meaningless mountains, mammals, marsupials, monuments. They look just the same as they always will.
But the pictures of people - surrounded by cars, clothes, lovers and dreams long lost - the people will someday mean something.
My first trip to Australia, 1980.
Looks like a couple pics from a spot called Gillotines near Uladulla. Surfed it 23 years ago with a couple of friends from central Florida. Quite a nice barrel when it’s on. You park your car on the reef and almost just step into the lineup.
i got pictures of my little dick with tweezers around it
fuck I hate australia.
lewis ’susan sontag’ samuels
Was going to post a similar comment MC, but I was going to suggest that Samuels go back and read Sontag’s “In Plato’s Cave” once again . . .
In fact, here you go:
Killer post, nice change up. A good trip changes you for a few weeks. The fire on the water sunrise shot is rad.
Is that Matthew and Regulator on the bottom pic back when they were just eski lid groms?
i find the photos are pretty good, especially #3
You are so right! I’ve been thinking about this same concept. Never forget to take photos of people. shove em away in some shoe box or some dank corner of the computer and bring em back out 10-15 years later and show them off. it;s definitely a whole style of photography.
great post.
“If I could save time in a bottle…”
Groundbreaking entry. Observing that people and their things age.
Sounds like Lewis has gone poofie. Spent far to long in Australia sporting a banana hammock or something.
Are you the big brother or little brother Lewis?
Must be a good trip, you’re already missing the place you haven’t left just yet.
dick draggers suck…
fuck there are a lot of waves in Australia. A lot of gay hipsters too, but a lot of great waves.
@morey
That was yesterday’s deal dude. I’ve heard some people say that as you get older your cock shrivels and your balls begin to droop…I don’t have that problem
What’s the over/under on when it will begin to get ugly?
I love the post Lewis. Love the pics. Especially the one of the Kangaroos.
Allo Kangaroos! So nice to meet you. There are three of thee and one of me. You know what that means, don’t you fellas! My goodness. Thankfully, sweet Huey gave me great stamina.
I will line you up, kangaroos. Yes I will. And tie you tail-first to the rafters about my bungalow. Yes I will. Your beloved balloon knots will I then pillage? Yes, I will. All whilst groping your sweet marsupial pouches?… sweet mother of Mark, yes I will.
O kangaroos. Whether thou art a wallaby, a wallaroo, or a Jenny; my throbbing love shalt indwell your innermost sanctuaries of furry affection. Together, our foursome shalt reign uponst the earth like diarrhea from Jamie O’Brien’s bunghole when he realizes that age thirty-five means a job as a Wal-Mart greeter. Yes it will.
Come to me, my sweet marsupials. I love thee like Mark loves his bible.
Wait.
That. Went. Too. Far.
BR… Is that you?? I guess the over/under is about 11:00 pm
Shut thy mouth Trauzersnake. We do not speak that name here.
You are a sick dog Lewis. Dragging Murray and Andy’s Man out of the closet tonight. I guess you sunk too much urine at the Antler.
Fark off Sepp.
Now you’re a man!
Australia is a great place, those pictures capture what seppos dream about ha ha