Published inCounter Arts·5 days agoMember-onlyBring on the Moomins RevolutionMaybe becoming Moominists will save us — It’s said that some photographers photograph the world as it is, and some as they wish it could be. I tend to fall somewhat more into the latter category. I believe in being a truth-teller but I do follow my enchantments. During a month-long artist residency in northern Finland some…Moomins5 min readMoomins5 min read
Published inFairy Tales from the Fault Lines·6 days agoMember-onlyCapitol HillDriving home on a wet winter night. My young daughter in the back seat said, daddy look at the moon, that’s a good picture, take a picture. So I stopped the car, got out, went across the street, took the picture, got back in the car. I don’t question these…Washington DC1 min readWashington DC1 min read
Published inCounter Arts·Nov 21Member-onlyFlip It. Flip It Good.A smartphone is a miracle — which is why it is ruining everything — By giving us access to all our friends at all times, it is ruining friendship. By offering endless entertainment, it is ruining boredom. By giving us frictionless experiences while traveling, it is ruining travel. By putting wondrous learning tools in our hands, it is ruining education. By enabling…Digital Life8 min readDigital Life8 min read
Published inFairy Tales from the Fault Lines·Nov 18Member-onlyColumbia HeightsThe future finally arrived, in no less startling a fashion than if a spaceship landed at 14th and Park, planted seeds in the rubble that sprung up into buildings and metal trees, then took off in a flash of white noise. The only trace those concentric circles in the pavement…Gentrification1 min readGentrification1 min read
Published inCounter Arts·Nov 17Member-onlyOn Czech Photography, DC Cool, and Icelandic Indie MusicWhat arts/culture movement will come next? — It’s fascinating how different cultures produce specific art in certain times/places. Think the blues, the British Invasion, or Bollywood. Art has the soft-power potential to shape and steer the world around it, at least for a period of time, by electrifying and shaping the perceptions of each of us. …Future5 min readFuture5 min read
Published inCounter Arts·Nov 16Member-onlyNairobi CallingA place in transition, in all its complexity, imperfections, and contradictions. — Nairobi almost feels like a Wild West town, or maybe New York City in the early 20th century. Modern buildings going up next to makeshift kiosks, guys hauling stuff around on carts, and too many people crammed into slums. Not third-world, definitely an up-and-comer. Some cities are settled business, Nairobi…Modern Africa6 min readModern Africa6 min read
Nov 11Member-onlyD.C., a District of Change through a photographer’s lens(Originally published in the Washington Post Magazine, July 23, 2015) Photos and text by Bill Crandall What has always interested me most are places in transition, where the past is still hanging around like vapor and the future is brightening but uncertain. After years of photographing across post-communist Eastern Europe…Washington DC3 min readWashington DC3 min read
Jun 23, 2021Mod Memoirs — Part 4 — The SceneOk, yeah, that’s Quadrophenia, but it’s pretty much how we saw ourselves. Though there weren’t rockers in DC; mods didn’t brawl with anyone, it was never a fighting thing. There was always something of an unspoken truce with the DC punks. Tim Goldsmith and I went to one of those…Mod4 min readMod4 min read
Jun 22, 2021Mod Memoirs — Part 3 — The BandsUp until the summer of 1983, there were a few bits and pieces (odds and sods?) of mod-ism in DC, but they hadn’t yet fully fused into a scene. Count 4 was definitely the first mod band, and their (and later Modest Proposal’s) bassist Perry Flint was arguably the first…Mod5 min readMod5 min read
Jun 20, 2021Mod Memoirs — Part 2 — Building Toward a Scene, and Here Comes Modest ProposalIn high school I pretty much had a new band each year, and each band was a bit more mod than the last. …Mod3 min readMod3 min read
