Hazy daze
90°F, 205 AQI
DEAR EXPOSEUR —
Today, I am thinking about the people across Canada impacted by the ongoing wildfires, and the crews battling them.
Here in Baltimore, we are blanketed by a dense, acrid haze. It settled upon us last night. The 94° temperature added to the walled-in, claustrophobic feeling. My lungs were burning just driving across town, so I opted to skip long exposures and head home.
By morning, the haze had grown so thick that I could no longer see the skyline from my bedroom window, and all was cast in a dingy, orange glow. Indoors felt like a good place to be.
Nevertheless, I had to take my son to camp and drop off library books before work, so I opted to bring my Ricoh GR III with me to photograph things along the way. To preserve the odd glow across all these photos, I kept my camera’s white balance set to “daylight.”
Stay safe out there. It’s a great day to spend indoors. If you need me, I’ll be by the window with a photobook.
MEANWHILE
Speaking of photo books: “Renowned German Photobook Publisher Steidl Faces Bankruptcy,” reports Artforum. I have so many Steidl books on the shelf, and am sad to see them falling on hard times. As much as I hope they can pull off a miracle and somehow survive, it’s hard to be optimistic when the publishing world at large is struggling. Photobooks are such a niche interest. If you were thinking of picking up a book from their stock, now might be a good time.
Next Thursday, July 23, is the monthly Baltimore Photobook Meet-Up. Same book time, same book place. 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Enoch Pratt Free Library at 400 Cathedral Street in the Fine Arts department. Maybe we’ll honor our favorite Steidl editions.
And while we’re talking about the ephemeral nature of photography, now’s a great time to make some prints of your work! The next Print Exchange is Saturday, August 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., also at the Pratt.
The next time I’m in your inbox, hopefully I’ll have some photos from Maryland’s beautiful Eastern Shore to share with you.
Ha! you found my ' 69 MGB... I can tell it is a pre-'74 since it has the original chrome bumper ( feds made them add a rubber one after 74), same color, looks like it has the same replacement convertible soft top I replaced ( before someone entered using a knife through the top) and wire wheels! Last seen about a year after I got out of grad school - sold to a friend ( who no longer speaks to me) ... be forewarned it has a ton of parking tickets from Rutgers University if you try to register it. Glad to see it made it to Baltimore and someone is looking after it.
Aw, I hadn't heard that news about Steidl...it's really sad, IMHO. At the same time, it's unforgivable to not pay staff their wages.