3 thoughts on “01-08-96”

  1. This is my exact birthday!! I never knew I was born on a Monday! I think Hugh is standing at a gas station or maybe even a diner? Sorta looks like the ‘Hot and Ready’ sign of Krispy Kreme!

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  2. I was born on this day to two terrified kids; my mother was 18 and my father was 17.

    I first heard about Jamie and his work from a friend who is now a photographer professionally due to the influence these photos had on him. When he told me about it I waited until I was alone and looked at every single picture on this site in order. It took me a second to realize when I clicked on this one that this was taken on the day I was born.

    Jamie’s work is powerful, I believe, because it shows the entirety of the human spectrum; it shows all of the lights and darks, warm yellows and drained grays that make up what it means to be a human. The fight that my parents had to win in order for me to be the person that I am now is reflected in this picture for me, in the coldness of the surroundings and the double image of his face, in the hollowed holes where his eyes should be and the barely perceptible tension of his body. To me, this photo seems to show a sense of the struggle that we as humans face, willingly or unwillingly, and shows it not as some dramatic, demon slaying image, but as an everyday, quiet occurrence.

    I love this picture because it, like life, is unfocused and tense, but not sad, not gloomy. Just factual, honest.

    I wish I could have known Jaime so I could ask him if he meant to make it that way, or if he just felt it without words as so many artists do.

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