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May 31, 2012

Amazing 1960s Celebrity Photos Found in a Photographer's Closet

When Dan Oppenheimer opened the door to Jack Robinson's apartment, he had no idea what he'd discover. He knew that Robinson had been a photographer in an earlier chapter of his life that he rarely spoke of.


Oppenheimer, who had been Robinson's boss at a stained-glass studio in Memphis, recalls that Robinson kept mostly to himself and had very few friends. Few people even knew he had died, which might explain why Oppenheimer found himself in this position to begin with: There was no one else to take care of the effects.

What Oppenheimer did find when he opened the doors was an immaculately tidy apartment with exactly one of everything: One plate, one bowl, one mug. Robinson only wore white shirts and jeans, Oppenheimer says, and his spare white buttons were meticulously organized by size. A few cameras were in a display case. Then he opened the closet.

"I opened this one box, and stacked down to the bottom was Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Jack Nicholson, The Who," Oppenheimer told NPR. "It became very obvious that this was no ordinary photographer."

Jack Robinson, New Orleans, early 1950s (Jack Robinson Archive)

Jack Robinson had been a commercial photographer in New York City — namely for Vogue — long enough to build an archive of some 150,000 prints of the most recognizable faces of the '50s, '60s and '70s.

It wasn't until after his death that Oppenheimer discovered this — and more. Like the fact that Robinson was gay; that he had skyrocketed from a small-town Mississippi home to the upper crust of social hipdom, carousing with Andy Warhol's milieu; that he'd had a serious alcohol problem, which, likely in tandem with other factors, led to his ultimate unraveling.

Ever since Robinson's 1997 death, Oppenheimer has been piecing together the photographer's life — cataloging and publicizing the photos, managing what is now the Jack Robinson Archive. And after more than a decade, a preview of Robinson's work can be seen in the book Jack Robinson On Show: Portraits 1958-72.

Elton John

Ralph Lauren

Melba Moore

Anthony Perkins

Nina Simone

May 30, 2012

17 Beautiful Photos of Brigitte Bardot on the Set of 'Shalako' in 1967

Shalako is a British 1968 Western film directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot, filmed in Almería, Spain. The cast also includes Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, and Honor Blackman, Connery's co-star in Goldfinger. It is based on a novel by Louis L'Amour.


Brigitte Bardot clearly has a lovely time speaking inflected English in an American Western, and Sean Connery is obviously relieved to be, and very strong outside James Bond.

The plot concerns a lot of European aristocrats who insist on shooting wild sheep on a safari in Indian territory. The American Westerners keep putting them down in every way, except in rock climbing (the Europeans have practiced in the Alps), and when the Apache come they are no more villainous (or saintly either) than they ought to be. The movie, directed by Edward Dmytryk, is unpretentiously not so much antiwar as propeace ("There has been enough bloodshed," an Apache chief says near the end, and there has.)






May 28, 2012

So You Think You Can Dance? Check Out These 25 Awkward Vintage Dance School Snapshots From the 1970s and ’80s

No longer must the photographs of childhood dancing days languish in dusty shoe boxes in a parents’ garage – now that everyone has mastered the wonder of an online photo album, they can be uploaded so moments of stardom will never be lost or forgotten.


The images come courtesy of These Americans, a website dedicated to collating retro scenes of American life from bloodied civil rights protesters to barflies in the 1980s and homages to the great American road trip.

Looking at these decades-old photos probably uncovered from a long-forgotten drawer somewhere, photos that were never intended for mass consumption of the Internet is making us feel a little weird, delightful as they are. Now who’s the awkward one?






May 26, 2012

Amazing Vintage Photographs Capture Airplanes Landing at the Logan International Airport, Boston in the 1970s

For the Documerica Project (1971-1977), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hired freelance photographers to capture images relating to environmental problems, EPA activities, and everyday life in the 1970s.

Michael Philip Manheim was one of nearly one hundred photographers hired for DOCUMERICA. His assignment was to document the noise pollution crises in the East Boston neighborhood around Neptune Road.

Manheim captured powerful images of the deteriorating community, illustrating its uncomfortable proximity to one of the nation's busiest airports and the plight of residents living under the landing path of jets on the approach to Logan's busy runways.

Near Logan Airport - Airplane Coming in for Landing Over Frankfort Street at Lovell Street Intersection 05/1973

Jet Zooms Over Southwestern Side of Neptune Road 05/1973

Near Logan Airport - Airplane Coming in for a Landing Over Neptune Road Backyards 05/1973

Lovell Street Homes in Jet Aircraft Landing Pattern 05/1973

Mary Bruno Holds Her Ears Against Noise of Jet Coming in for a Landing on Runway 15r at Logan Airport. 39 Neptune Road, the Brunos' Home, Is the White-Fronted Building in the Background 05/1973

Extraordinary Portrait Daguerreotypes Made by Mathew Brady's Studio Between 1844 and 1860

Mathew Brady (1822-1896) was one of the earliest photographers in American history, best known for his scenes of the Civil War.

He studied under inventor Samuel F. B. Morse, who pioneered the daguerreotype technique in America. Brady opened his own studio in New York in 1844, and photographed Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams, among other celebrities. When the Civil War started, his use of a mobile studio and darkroom enabled vivid battlefield photographs that brought home the reality of war to the public. Thousands of war scenes were captured, as well as portraits of generals and politicians on both sides of the conflict, though most of these were taken by his assistants, rather than by Brady himself.

After the war, these pictures went out of fashion, and the government did not purchase the master-copies as he had anticipated. Brady’s fortunes declined sharply, and he died in debt.






May 25, 2012

Creepy Vintage Ads Featuring Children

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, kids were used to promote cigarettes, firearms, drugs and much more. Many of the ads — which feature things like cellophane-wrapped infants and gun-toting toddlers — seem irresponsible and creepy.

7-Up -- Soda (1956)

Ayer's -- Cathartic pills (1890s)

Young Fritz -- Cigar box label

Camel -- Cigarettes (1946)

Douglas -- Aircraft (1949)

33 Stunning Color Photographs Capture San Francisco's Hippie Street Life in the Summer of 1971

San Francisco's flamboyant and sun-drenched streets teem with colorful characters in these stunning flower power pictures. The photographs were taken by Nick DeWolf in the summer of 1971.







May 21, 2012

Dramatic Photos of Poverty And Life in Maine in the 1980s and 1990s

In 1982, Steven Rubin hitchhiked around Maine with very little money and a camera, making his way inland from the scenic coastline.

He discovered that the real Maine was not featured in tourist brochures but exists in perennial poverty just beyond the interstate.

Rubin kept going back to the area, befriending families whose lives were in deep contrast to the seaside resorts and picturesque villages with lobster shacks that Maine is known for.

Roger, 1982

Sanford eyes his cousin's deer, 1982

The Avery family, 1982

Tracy and her cat, 1991

Ann and her kids the day before Daddy left town for good, 1990

May 19, 2012

Hell on Wheels: 14 Crazy Bikes From the 1940s

A collection of photos from the 1940s that belie the famous old saying that there's no such thing as a useless bicycle.

Four-man bicycle is powered by five chains and has brakes on both its wheels. The bike was built by Art Rothschild (top position) who broke three ribs while learning how to ride it.

Only springs connect rear of Maurice Steinlauf's bike with roving front wheel.

Uno-Wheel, if braked suddenly, has been known to spin its rider round and round inside the big main wheel.

Square-wheeled bike held by Bernard Steinlauf was built by son Dave after seeing a bicycle wreck.

Gangbusters Bike mounts 13 shotguns, two revolvers, six bayonets, flare gun.




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