In the wake of the tragic shooting and killing of children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, gun culture and gun control law are in the spotlight. There are many questions, not the least urgent one being, why would a civilian bring a gun into their home in the first place? Photographer Kyle Cassidy travelled 20,000 miles around the country taking portraits of the so-called “everyman” gun owners in their home, asking that very question, compiling the work in the book Armed in America, recently spotted by Kottke. Not all answers hit the outright disturbing note of this one: ”I own a gun because I’m a fuckin’ American and a Marine. It’s my God-given right.” However, undoubtedly, we can look back at this project with renewed concern about what it means to be a gun owner in the US and renewed skepticism as to whether we need better answers or better laws. … Read More

Prepare to see pet fish like you’ve never seen them before… unless you spend hours of meaningful eye contact with your beloved aquarium-bound buddy, that is. Photographer Ernest Goh project The Animal Book explores the relationship between domestic pets and their human masters through formal, emotive, close-up portraiture. “Humans tend to like to anthropomorphize animals and soon after considered their pet to be part of the family and looked upon as a member with a character and soul,” the photographer explains, allegedly capturing the “that human-like character imposed onto them by their owners.” Here’s looking at you, fish. … Read More