A Picture A Day For Eighteen Years...With a Polaroid SX-70

Gravdigr · 08-31-2010, 11:55 PM

from Mental Floss, by Chris Higgins

Quote:

Yesterday I came across a slightly mysterious website — a collection of Polaroids, one per day, from March 31, 1979 through October 25, 1997. There’s no author listed, no contact info, and no other indication as to where these came from. So, naturally, I started looking through the photos. I was stunned by what I found.

...

What started for me as an amusing collection of photos — who takes photos every day for eighteen years? — ended with a shock. Who was this man? How did his photos end up on the web? I went on a two-day hunt, examined the source code of the website, and tried various Google tricks.

Finally my investigation turned up the photographer as Jamie Livingston, and he did indeed take a photo every day for eighteen years, until the day he died, using a Polaroid SX-70 camera. He called the project “Photo of the Day” and presumably planned to collect them at some point — had he lived. He died on October 25, 1997 — his 41st birthday.

After Livingston’s death, his friends Hugh Crawford and Betsy Reid put together a public exhibit and website using the photos and called it PHOTO OF THE DAY: 1979-1997, 6,697 Polaroids, dated in sequence. The physical exhibit opened in 2007 at the Bertelsmann Campus Center at Bard College (where Livingston started the series, as a student, way back when). The exhibit included rephotographs of every Polaroid and took up a 7 x 120 foot space.

You can read more about the project at this blog (apparently written by Crawford?). Or just look at the website. It’s a stunning account of a man’s life and death. All photos above are from the website.

Update: I’ve made contact with Hugh Crawford and his wife Louise. Apparently the pictures that are just dates aren’t Polaroids — they’re placeholders for days when there was no photo, or the photo was lost.

Update 2: After hitting the Digg homepage, the original site has been taken down by the host. Hopefully it’ll be back up overnight; in the meantime if anyone has a mirror of the original site, please leave a link in the comments (you have to leave off the http part).

Update 3: The original website is back up! Hugh has managed to restore service, and it looks like the site is now cached across multiple servers. It’s still a little slow due to the huge amount of traffic, but at least it works. Go check it out.

Update 4: Jamie Livingston has been added to Wikipedia.

A man's life in Polaroids.

Link

squirell nutkin · 09-01-2010, 12:12 AM

My first reaction to the thread title is:
That's a fuck of a lot of money.

Now I'll follow the link

glatt · 09-01-2010, 07:46 AM

Lot of pictures there! Some are pretty neat. He traveled a lot.

I like this one, but I've only looked at like a 5th of the thumbnails so far.

casimendocina · 09-01-2010, 07:48 AM

Very cool.

Clodfobble · 09-01-2010, 08:06 AM

In the early years it seemed to really just be lots and lots of friends of his, but over time he became better at capturing a moment/event that made it clear what was going on in his life that day. The medical stuff towards the end was heartbreaking.

Trilby · 09-01-2010, 09:33 AM

incredible.

This is one reason I love the cellar - I never would have found that site myself.

Thanks.

And fuck cancer.

xoxoxoBruce · 09-01-2010, 09:44 AM

"What ever happened to Saturday night"
In the beginning he's young, in school, lots of friends and social happenings. Then graduation and time to focus on the real world, but still, weekends are holidays are social.
But as "time marches on", friends drift away following their own path, and new friends are harder to aquire because everyone's pressed for time. A pretty typical pattern.

I'd like to know what New Years Eve, 1994, is about?

Gravdigr · 09-01-2010, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squirell nutkin

My first reaction to the thread title is:
That's a fuck of a lot of money.

Damn skippy. The last SX-70 film I bought (about a hundred years ago) was $14. (them's eighties dollars, too)

bigw00dy · 09-03-2010, 11:19 AM

Thanks for a great link!

Gravdigr · 09-03-2010, 02:04 PM

Glad everyone seems to like it.

Gravdigr · 09-03-2010, 02:35 PM

BTW: SX-70 film is still not cheap. The cameras are cheaper than the film packs.

09-01-2010, 12:12 AM	#2
squirell nutkin has a second hand user title Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: in a Nut House Posts: 2,017	My first reaction to the thread title is: That's a fuck of a lot of money. Now I'll follow the link __________________ And now I'm finished posting.

09-01-2010, 07:46 AM	#3
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Lot of pictures there! Some are pretty neat. He traveled a lot. I like this one, but I've only looked at like a 5th of the thumbnails so far. Attached Images

09-01-2010, 08:06 AM	#5
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	In the early years it seemed to really just be lots and lots of friends of his, but over time he became better at capturing a moment/event that made it clear what was going on in his life that day. The medical stuff towards the end was heartbreaking. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

09-01-2010, 09:33 AM	#6
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	incredible. This is one reason I love the cellar - I never would have found that site myself. Thanks. And fuck cancer. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

09-01-2010, 09:44 AM	#7
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	"What ever happened to Saturday night" In the beginning he's young, in school, lots of friends and social happenings. Then graduation and time to focus on the real world, but still, weekends are holidays are social. But as "time marches on", friends drift away following their own path, and new friends are harder to aquire because everyone's pressed for time. A pretty typical pattern. I'd like to know what New Years Eve, 1994, is about? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

09-01-2010, 07:48 AM	#4
casimendocina Professor Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,622	Very cool.

09-03-2010, 11:19 AM	#9
bigw00dy I'm here once in a while Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 458	Thanks for a great link! __________________ flickr®

09-03-2010, 02:04 PM	#10
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	Glad everyone seems to like it. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

09-03-2010, 02:35 PM	#11
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	BTW: SX-70 film is still not cheap. The cameras are cheaper than the film packs. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

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