Wednesday 15 September 2010

The past has never been as beautiful as today.

 
I found out about Roger Mayne because the above picture of a ‘Girl Jiving’ taken in Southam Street in 1957 is the cover to my paperback copy of Ali Smith’s Girl Meets Boy (A fabulous book by an absurdly underrated writer that I can only recommend everybody to read. In fact you should read all her books!). After I fell in love with that cover photograph, I looked Mayne up and it turns out that he is someone I should have known all along. His pictures of urban England in the 50s and 60s (interspersed with the occasional country idyll, the odd portrait) are beautiful. I particularly like the ‘snapshots’ that remind a bit of film stills. 
Here is a selection, all taken from his website.


 

2 comments:

celine said...

wow - what fantastic photographs! thanks for introducing them to me!
and hello, i'm new to your blog! :)

dani said...

They’re brilliant, aren’t they. They make me feel nostalgic for a time I never experienced. (I think Douglas Coupland invented a term for that once!)

And hello! I'm always glad to get new followers. So far this blog is a very exclusive affair ... Anyways, I like your blog too. :)