It looks like we are getting busy again, which is wonderful, so here's another one.

Do-Rag, Copyright 2001 Jeff Spirer

Shot with a 50mm lens on Tri-X in Rodinal and scanned from the negative, in case anyone is interested. I'll probably clean up those circles before I print it.

Well I'm off to see Sex Mob tonight, will check in later.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), July 03, 2001

Answers

Jeff,

Three questions (all dumb).

1. What circles? It looks great.

2. Something I like is the story behind the photograph. what's the story here?

3. Ok...I'm showing my age: what is "Sex Mob?"

-- Todd Frederick (fredrick@hotcity.com), July 03, 2001.

Not quite out the door yet, so here's some answers to Todd's questions:

1) I took the circles out and reposted the photo after initially posting. They looked like flare but were just some large and overly bright out of focus areas.

2) He's a bartender. Although this was taken in a bar (actually a patio bar), he doesn't work there. He doesn't drink, he was just there for a few minutes chatting with the bartender, a friend of his (and mine). I've also seen him working as a bouncer or doorman at a late night club. There isn't any real story, I like shooting in bars and have an affinity for people who work in the food and beverage business, it runs in the family.

3) That's a link above, click on the words Sex Mob and you can read about them. They are playing at another bar I shoot in.

Thanks for the comments and questions.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), July 03, 2001.

It's an unguarded moment, and I like the presentation, but to me he looks as if he's teetering on the edge of gormelessness. I have a norwegian friend who looks a lot like this, and who wears this face a split second before he tells me he doesn't believe a word I'm saying, so perhaps I'm biased.

For what it's worth, I like the fact that people are selective about what they show here, and are content to let the forum lie dormant from time to time. I get the sense that the images shown are those that the poster wants to share with this particular community, which makes the whole thing more personal.

-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), July 04, 2001.

gormelessness

? I don't know this word. Maybe you can explain.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), July 04, 2001.

For what it's worth, I like the fact that people are selective about what they show here, and are content to let the forum lie dormant from time to time. I get the sense that the images shown are those that the poster wants to share with this particular community, which makes the whole thing more personal.

I can see your point. However, this is the only forum on the net that seems to be free of the flame and stupidity mentality that plagues other forums (I exclude our spammer), so it's more fun to be here than elsewhere.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), July 04, 2001.

The only US english equivalent to "gormless" (no 'e', sorry) that i know is the phase "the lights are on but nobody's home". "Vacant" is used similarly, at least where I grew up. It's not particularly impolite, certainly less so than calling someone stupid .

I've no idea where it comes from. The only other "gorm" I know is the gaelic for "blue", which can't have much to do with it. We have quite a collection of slang dictionaries at home, so I'll see if I can dig something up, but don't hold your breath.

As for the forum, I think moderation helps, but an active slapping down of juvenile behaviour by the regulars has always been a major component of the better internet groups that I've been a part of. There doesn't seem to have been too much of that here, pace steve.c, so perhaps the forum just benefits from obscurity.

It would be interesting to know how many people lurk but don't contribute. The web logs for my images have downloads from people whose domains I don't recognise, but not in any great number.

-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), July 05, 2001.

Well, count me in as a lurker for the most part.

:) shawn

-- shawn (seeinsideforever@yahoo.com), July 05, 2001.

Re: gormless. The OED reckons it's from "gaum", old French for "understanding", which is awfully dull. My "Dictionary of Historial Slang" has various C17th and C18th gorm-words where the gorm bit just means stupid or nonsensical. For an origin they give a somewhat opaque "C17th fake Chinese".

-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), July 10, 2001.