African Safari

I have mixed feelings about African safaris. The idea of leaving urban areas behind and experiencing nature has and will always appeal to me. I spend far too much time connected to the Internet through my laptop, Xbox, and Blackberry and the allure of an idealized rustic experience, like a safari, is very compelling.

However, along with the rustic experiences come many of the negative connotations associated with European Colonialism in Africa, specifically gluttony, racial superiority, and entitlement. Even a safari's documentation conveys the West’s inherent feeling of entitlement. Why is it considered cultured and anthropological to show “Native’s breasts” on TV or in National Geographic but degenerate to show a white or black American's boobs? In some twisted way, writing about the problems with Safaris makes them even more romantic. Here are some photos gleaned from my hours perusing the Life Archive that embody the iconic African Safari including the staples: Landrover Defender, binoculars, high-socks-short-shorts, side-by-side shotguns, scoped hunting rifles, Safari Helmets, cigars, and of course, nude natives.

This guy is hunting more than just the local animals.

You know these trackers did all of the work. Check out his Desert Boots.

The Landrover Defender is an essential part of the African Safari.

Gold inlay and short shorts.

The Prize.

Trip to Ann Arbor

For the last three days I have been in Ann Arbor spending time with my grandmother, Trudy Huntington, a retired professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. Thanks to Google's digitization of the University's books, a slew of her writings on the Amish, Mennonites and other religious groups are available here. Now I am off to the NYC area for an interview with Young & Rubicam on Monday.

Here is my grandmother's house, a ten minute walk from UM's campus and stone's throw from multiple fraternities and sororities.

Here is a picture of my grandmother near the entrance to the University of Michigan Nicholas Arboretum, affectionately known as the Arb.

Here is a photo of me using my grandmother's old Pentax slr and her using my Canon. If you look closely you can see her reflection in my sunglasses.

My grandmother and I ate at Zimmerman's, a Ann Arbor institution and restaurant straight out Stuff White People Like # 63: Expensive Sandwiches.

I am a pyromaniac so I can never take enough pictures of fire.

Barbour Internation Jacket

Since its introduction in 1936, Barbour has done little more than change the location of their logo on the iconic International Jacket. The International's 8 oz waxed cotton has kept motorcyclists dry, warm and protected from gravel for the last seventy years. The diagonal left breast pocket, designed for easy access while in the saddle, plainly identifies the jacket and influenced WWII Submarine Allied Officer Jackets.

Today, the jacket is a homage to Triumph and Indian riders like bad boys Bud Ekins and Steve McQueen. I am surprised that Brad Pitt's in the Curious Life of Benjamin Button didn't wear an International in the "look book" like motorcycle montage. Here are some photos from the Life Archive of Ekins and McQueen racing through the Mojave Desert in 1963 wearing their Barbour Jackets.

Note the Barbour plaid on Steve McQueen's well worn jacket.

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.