(Nudity) Stephen DiRado | Brilliant

[cenelson]

I'm speechless.

http://www.stephendirado.com/bellpond.htm
http://www.stephendirado.com/mall.htm
http://www.stephendirado.com/beach.htm (nudist beach)
http://www.stephendirado.com/dinner.htm
http://www.stephendirado.com/jacob.htm
http://www.stephendirado.com/gene.htm
http://www.stephendirado.com/celestial.htm
http://www.stephendirado.com/jump.htm

[jake]

Wow.

The series on his father with Alzheimer's is pretty heartbreaking.

A lot of work there. Thanks.

[KirkT]

did you see Soth's interview with him?

Alec Soth has a great blog going...

http://alecsoth.com/blog/

[connealy]

From what I have been able to see of the photos on the guy's site, I'm still at a loss as to what those who have commented find compelling about the work.  The type of thumbnail display, to my misfortune, is basically inaccessible to a dialup connection.  I tried letting the page on the dinner series load through shower and a breakfast, but still only got a few of the full-size images.
. . I did read the blog interview, and thought that Soth made a pretty good effort to elicit some insights, but I didn't find much from him or DiRado that really explained anything.  The photographer expresses the hope that his work will be available to generations to come to see see how and what people ate.  I wonder why he would think his pictures will accomplish that better than Gene M's found film, or pictures many of us find in junk stores.  For me, those pictures at DiRado's dinner table represent a very thin slice of our society.

[cenelson]

The Bell Pond series reflects a despair... I can't put my finger on it, but the set reminds me of people I knew in my youth, directionless, adrift.

The Mall series is stark as well.

I think I most like the beach series. Some very comfortable people, nice compositions.

He's got a neat way with flash. Old school.

C

Here's one from his mall series.

[cenelson]

One from the Bell Pond Series

[cenelson]

One from the Beach...

[cenelson]

One from the dinner series that strikes me as good...

[connealy]

Thanks for posting those examples.  Each of those does seem interesting, more so individually than in the groupings of subjects, I think.  I wonder if the photographer and others see the same thing I do in the picture of the two cops.   It seems to me a shot that might just as easily have been made in a leather and chains dive in downtown SF.

[KirkT]

that's what I was thinking too.  

I like his stuff...but what really inspires me is that he had and is getting recognition and yet he didn't really travel the world; he just had a good eye for the world around him and tells the story well (IMHO).

[Major Black]

From what I have been able to see of the photos on the guy's site, I'm still at a loss as to what those who have commented find compelling about the work.

I feel the same.

If you want to do  a series of "Jump" images, if you are a serious artist, you'd better beat or compete with Phillippe Halsman.

If this guy did a hard edit of his work, say eliminating around half or more, he might appear good to me. There's just too much average looking stuff in there to my eye.