I find this project fascinating! I'd always wondered how people could let their houses get into such a state of disrepair. In England it's most commonly old Council properties that no one want to live in. It's hard to place who's responsibility it is to maintain the upkeep of these houses. Why would you want the house next to yours to be a rundown mess.....surely it affects the value of your property also!? I'm not assuming that everyone is that self centred, but how can a society justify homelessness in a community when there are houses unattended.  Maybe local councils could take on the responsibility? ... but with their budgets spread thinly enough taking on yet another seemingly unnecessary frivolous project makes no sense. These are the things that I think about when I'm sat in the car but then I found THIS project from Kevin Bauman 100 abandoned houses.

Some of the houses included in this project are absolutely beautiful. It's easy to imagine back to their hay day when the neighbourhood was affluent and...well...populated! along with loving most of the buildings with all of their quirky architectural elements, the images themself are so striking and there are a limited number of prints available of each building...my favourite has already sold out!

JUMP!





The images below are from a series called JUMP by the Photographer Philippe Halsman. Halsman was commissioned to take pictures for high end magazines  and after the formal shoot would ask his subjects to jump giving them no other direction than that!along with the movement in the pictures I really like the expressions on peoples faces; the childlike glee in Hepburn and Monroe a contrast to the demure and sultry image that was often portrayed of them by the media! Nixon however looks calm as ever and appears to be levitating more than jumping; but still such a different side to him rather than the scowling statesman that most people saw. Philippe Halsman when asked about his Jumpology series said: “When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping, and the mask falls, so that the real person appears. How hilarious do the Windsors look! Who said the royal family don't have a sense of humour!

All families have at least one member that's a little bit out there! The one thats the centre for most family discussion even tho they're never there! Most of my family would probably say that I'm the odd one that has some odd life style whom they never hear from apart from when I just appear! I OBJECT!....It's definitely uncle Fred! Frederick Hibbert is also known as Toots; the lead singer of Tots and the Maytals! He's a legend and he's my uncle!

I know that I'm probably a bit to quick to say that my family is a joke...but really...

I rest my case!