An Ode to Transplants More Restless Than Me: Sean Flynn and Dana Stone

Sean Flynn and Dana Stone were last seen on April 6, 1969 on Route One somewhere near the Viet Cong front in Cambodian. Dana and Sean were American photographers covering the Vietnam War via motorcycle when they were captured by the Viet Cong at a Cambodian check point. The photo above was taken roughly two hours before their capture.

Flynn, a former actor, singer and Duke student, and Stone, a former logger, model, sailor and gold prospector, had no prior formal photographic training before arriving in Southeast Asia. Their appetite for risk and adventure put them in great situations to take photos established them as some of the most famous photographers of the war. It also brought about their demise.

Zalin Grant wrote a great piece discussing their lives and their disappearance available here.

Men's Vogue has a slideshow documenting Sean Flynn's.

It looks like Dana is carrying three German made 35mm Nikon F's with what I imagine to be a 50mm, an 85mm and a 135mm.

Before becoming a photojournalist, Sean Flynn followed his father's foot steps, Errol Flynn, and tried his hand at acting, staring in two B grade action movies.

Francis Ford Coppola and John Milius based Dennis Hopper's character in Apocalypse Now, pictured below, around Flynn and Stone.

Prospecters

For hundreds of years, American prospectors pushed the frontiers outwards in search of valuable minerals. With just what they could carry on their backs and a couple of mules, these prospectors braved the elements and harsh environments to stake claim to mining rights. They forced the Cherokee from Georgia and dislodged the Sioux from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Few of them ever struck it big, but the allure of instant wealth continues to push geologists, hermits and adventurers to head out for the territories today.

There is something very appealing about leaving the trials of society behind in search of independence, wealth and adventure.

John Loengard

John Loengard is the only photographer to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award in Photography from Life magazine and he just so happens to be my roommate's step-grandfather. He is most famous for a picture of the Beatles in swimming pool but I like his western photos. Here are some links.

Biography

Life Archive: John Loengard

Books

45 RPM

Yesterday I swung by the 45 RPM on east 71st. Specializing in indigo denim for over forty years, 45 RPM has collections that my friend Edge describes as four hundred dollar selvedge denim and three hundred dollar shirts inspired by contemporary Mongolian nomads or Japanese peasants.

The store's decor and merchandising remind me of the Rogues Gallery showroom with substantial nautical influences, including a bunch of Popeye the sailor dolls and a rowboat infused into a brick wall. Their walls were made of woods native to northern climates and had amazing detail including individually chiseled siding. Here is a photo I took in a mirror on the second floor. I like what they do.

Here are some exerts from their AW08 look book.