Book Review: Curiosities by Daniel Efram
Curiosities is a book by photographer Daniel Efram, who has self published an interesting collection of street photography that uses a hybrid process of digital technology and vintage lenses to present a self-published project of depth and creative influence. Everything about this Kickstarter funded project reeks of a love for the cities he lives in and travels to. A classic film noir style brought up to a modern age can be found between the covers of this book through Efram’s process. These are the studies of those around us who we secretly wish to know so much more about. Curiosities elicits exactly that - curiosity.
Who are these people and what are their stories? What can we discern from the activities we see in each frame. More often than not it’s far more than you would immediately gather. For every question that is answered, a new one usually emerges. I love that about the type of photography that Efram produces. We get so much out of the work, but he keeps the mystery alive at the same time. Very curious, indeed. These live performances play out in every city and every neighborhood around the world, but we miss them in pursuit of our own goals of the day. It takes an observant photographer with a keen eye to record them and present them to us for a review of what we’ve been missing.
It was Daniel’s own longing for what he was missing out on that brought him to shoot and publish this book in the first place. After a long stint as the caretaker for his parents and their failing health, it was only after their untimely passing that Daniel was able to go out into the world again and get back those moments that he may have missed while sacrificing his days and nights for the comfort of his loved ones. It seems quite apropos that Efram while knowing it or not at the time, memorializes his social worker mother and violinist father in his photography. Who else but them could have created a child that records the city and its denizens in the way that Daniel does? There is an embrace of a city at night that takes place in so much of what Efram photographs.
From the introduction (by Nicole Blackman):
“When a photographer catches the right moment, it tells us everything - even the things that aren’t actually there. Photography has a dirty little secret: what’s revealed isn’t about the image. It’s about us, and the stories we carry in our hearts and our memories.”
Efram’s images are ultimately frozen in time on a digital sensor, but only after traveling through the vintage Leitz, Leica, and Canon lenses he uses. It’s this way of working that shows how a 21st-century image maker can still rely on older technology to capture their world the way they see it. These lenses bend and transform the light passing through them before applying it to whatever host retains the image, thereby permanently imbuing it with their relevance and character. Who among us can deny the softer corners of the frame and the controlled contrast made with these instruments? My very own memories are recalled in much the same way, and most certainly retain this look for my own nostalgic reverence of the past. Efram hits the nail on the head in his endeavors and has created a book of nostalgia for us all to enjoy.
Pick up Curiosities and connect with Daniel Efram on his Website!
Daniel Efram: Curiosities
-Introduction by Nicole Blackman
-62 pages
-60 black & white photographs
-19.5 x 28.5 cm
-English, Tractor-Beam (self-published)
-Edition: 500 copies
-Printed by Kase in New Hampshire.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
My world was created by an activist social worker mother and a professional classical violist father in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. My images draw from my love of film noir with a verite’ focus. The grainy, gritty look of film and analog lenses makes me happy.
I’ve had five solo shows, two in Brooklyn, NY, two in Warwick, NY and a multimedia performance at Howl Happening, a gallery of the East Village, Manhattan.
My first art collection book, “Curiosities” was published in April of 2019.
-Daniel Efram
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Kirchoff is a photographic artist, independent curator and juror, and advocate for the photographic arts. He has been a juror for Photolucida’s Critical Mass, and has reviewed portfolios for the Los Angeles Center of Photography’s Exposure Reviews and CENTER’s Review Santa Fe. Michael has been a contributing writer for Lenscratch, Light Leaked, and Don’t Take Pictures magazine. In addition, he spent ten years (2006-2016) on the Board of the American Photographic Artists in Los Angeles (APA/LA), producing artist lectures, as well as business and inspirational events for the community. Currently, he is also Editor-in-Chief at Analog Forever Magazine, and is the Founding Editor for the online photographer interview website, Catalyst: Interviews. Previously, Michael spent over four years as Editor at BLUR magazine. Connect with Michael Kirchoff on his Website and Instagram!
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