One mans life in photos: Every day for 18 years
Mikey 23 comments
It's rare to come across a story like this on the Internet these days, and this particular story is very compelling. What sets this one apart from others is the lack of any actual narration or dialogue, leaving it up to your own imagination to fill in the blanks.
This series of photos was taken by a man every day for the last 18 years of his life, including the day he died. Browsing the photos in consecutive order you start to get a sense of the man and his life, which reveals tales of both happiness and sadness.
I have hand picked a few below with my own narrative to give you an example. You can browse the entire photographic collection here.
19th March 1980: This woman makes regular appearances early on. Who is she? A lover? A family member?
10th June 1980: The man himself. He appears to work in film.
5th December 1996: The man shows this pose many times throughout, almost as if he has a headache.
3rd April 1997: Something has happened to put him in hospital. But what? The woman is with him again.
6th June 1997: He appears to be loosing his hair, and I would hazard a guess its from chemotherapy. He has cancer.
24th June 1997: He has become diabetic, or he was diabetic all along. It's hard to know but this is the only photo indicating he had the disease.
30th July 1997: Back in hospital for more chemotherapy. There's the woman again.
30th September 1997: Still in hospital, but in a different room. This room appears to have life monitoring equipment.
5th October 1997: Speaks for itself. Well done to him.
7th October 1997: 2 days after the ring photo. Is that a wedding dress? Stunning. Look at how she gazes at him.
25th October 1997: That last photo his camera ever took, the day of his death.
Yolanda
Tuesday 24th June 2008 | 09:06 PMI loved every moment. Who is he? Can anyone find out?
No idea who this man is, but what a touching story - the mystery man's identity makes it all the more intriguing.
Thanks to Efflorescent (http://efflorescent.stumbleupon.com) for this information.
"The man's name is Jamie Livingston. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Livingston"
Amanda
Tuesday 24th June 2008 | 10:44 PMWhat a life. I keep wondering who all the other people are in his photos. Where are they now? Did they know he died?
Jake
Wednesday 25th June 2008 | 06:25 AMWell done. Fabulous find.
You write a compelling romantic and dramatic novel with this series, without writing more than a few words.
Dan L.
Wednesday 25th June 2008 | 06:58 AMI wonder if it was a conscious effort for him to not document each photo. You have to try and track down his widow to find out more about them.
Andrea L
Wednesday 25th June 2008 | 07:29 AMAt least he got married to his life love. But I still feel sad :-(
Jane
Wednesday 25th June 2008 | 09:25 AMI've been photographing for more than 20 years and these photos are brilliant. There are no forced poses or technical implementations. It's just one simple act every day, regardless of significance. But put all these moments together and we have a story about an ordinary man told every so beautifully.
I've seen many people try to mimic this but Jamie wasn't trying to tell a story or only photograph parts of his life that were interesting. He simply collected one memory per day so he could look back on it when he got old, but he sadly died early. He wasn't looking for a gimmick and he wasn't trying to sell anything, and he almost certainly didn't know his photos would become the subject of an exhibition.
And consider that he was a film maker and photographer and could have easily composed each shot, these ordinary photos are that much more extraordinary.
Thanks for the wonderful story.
Gina Squitieri
Wednesday 25th June 2008 | 10:44 AM...in response to this comment by Jake. Took the words right out of my mouth.
The Ink Rat
Wednesday 25th June 2008 | 10:58 AMI think it's great to see someone chronicle their lives in such a personal way in such a personal medium. What a tribute.
Gina Squitieri
Wednesday 25th June 2008 | 11:42 AMMichael, they look like just a bunch of random pictures. Is this a hoax?
...in response to this comment by Gina Squitieri. It's the real deal.
Your observation is right on the money too. Jane mentioned above that the pics were not composed or thought out, so they do appear 'random'. You have to look closer and put a story together yourself, as I did after viewing nearly all 6,697 pictures. My interpretation turns out to be close - given he did have cancer and died of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Livingston
I think it's one the most unintentionally artistic compilations ever discovered.
Gina Squitieri
Wednesday 25th June 2008 | 12:48 PM...in response to this comment by Mikey. Yes, I saw that wiki article about Mr. Livingston. Forgive what appears to be cynicism, but my mind wants to automatically think "The Blair Witch Project." I guess it all just seems too fantastic. I will keep an open mind about this one, though. If it's true, it's just beautiful.
Joe Marco
Saturday 28th June 2008 | 10:45 AMIn this life all you can ask for is to marry the one you love and for her to be there by your side on the day you die, at least that's what I think. These photos have wrecked me.
...in response to this comment by Gina Squitieri. I wish I could find the link to the exhibition. But I did find his IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0515253/
Gina Squitieri
Saturday 28th June 2008 | 01:38 PM...in response to this comment by Joe Marco. You've got to be kidding us, Joe.
Gina Squitieri
Saturday 28th June 2008 | 01:42 PM...in response to this comment by Mikey. "Keep it clean-your Mum (haha! I LOVE that) might be reading!" That's a good one, Michael! Thanks for the reminder.
I think it hits too close to home for me, Michael, and that's why I'm trying to run away from believing it's true. If it's a movie, then I can get over it.
Joe Marco
Sunday 29th June 2008 | 04:00 AM...in response to this comment by Gina Squitieri. No I'm not. It's all about dying a good death, which means living a good life and within that you have a partner/mate there to live with, love with, suffering with and be with. It's the manic romantic within. We get one shot in this life, and one shot only, so why not live in it and love in it as wholly, passionate, and truly as one can.
Gina Squitieri
Sunday 29th June 2008 | 11:26 PM...in response to this comment by Joe Marco. Then, clearly you were joking about subscribing to Hustler magazine. My misunderstanding.
Joe Marco
Monday 30th June 2008 | 02:46 AM...in response to this comment by Gina Squitieri. Well actually, that's how I got so romantic...thanks Larry Flynt!
Ellen
Tuesday 24th June 2008 | 09:04 PMThat's so sad it I nearly cried.