Murder Case Photographs: #2

Murder Case Photographs: #2



1955.

Black and white, dark and light, violence and safety. All the usual dichotomy suspects are present here.

Non-color photos are more mysterious because they're not quite how we really see things--that is, in color--so black and white photographs veil their subjects a little, there's a little burlesque in revealing almost all but leaving something to the imagination. They create or enhance a mood.

Here the archaic flash equipment exaggerates the contrasts, bleaching out the car and darkening even more the night background.

Mystery also in where this is. No signs or buildings to provide even a hint. An unpaved gravel road, quickly disappearing into the darkness around a curve.

In our nightmares this is what a murder scene looks like.


-Benjamin Harris