Category: Face Of The Day

Joe Berkowitz captions the earliest known selfie:

According to the Library of Congress, chemist and metallurgist Robert Cornelius is believed to be the first person to ever stare into the unblinking iris of a machine, beseeching it to capture his ephemeral essence forever. His self-shot daguerreotype from 1839 is the earliest known American portrait photo. It was taken in the yard of his family’s lighting store, back when long exposure times rendered the idea of photographing people just a wonderful dream. We’ve already seen what some historical photos might look like as selfies, but now we have the real deal to measure against.

Sophie Gamand snaps pictures of pets for her series Wet Dog:

The way the water plays with their hair in a very painterly manner, and their facial expressions as the water is poured on them creates striking portraits. The dogs are caught at a vulnerable moment, half a second before they shake the water off their fur. The series was done in collaboration with groomer and pet stylist Ruben Santana.

Gamand says of her work:

“Through my photos in general, and this series is no exception, I want others to see dogs for what they are: more than just animals. Our bond is so strong and unique that they really have a special place in the human lifestyle. There are more than animals, they are life companions. So when I photograph dogs, I look for the human in them: an expression, the life in their eyes, a smile. It’s almost as if humans and dogs are morphing into one-another in my work. It’s more than just anthropomorphism though. I don’t try to attribute human qualities to dogs. I try to capture the ones that I believe are already there.”

A turkey sits in a barn at the Willie Bird Turkey Farm in Sonoma, California. An estimated 46 million turkeys are cooked and eaten during Thanksgiving meals in the United States. By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Rabi Chandra, 4, waits as his parents check in for a flight at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 27, 2013. Nearly 1.5 million travelers are expected to fly through O’Hare over an eight-day Thanksgiving holiday travel period that ends December 3, according to the city’s Department of Aviation. A wintry storm system covering much of the nation is threatening to wreak havoc on holiday travel, especially in the South and Northeast. By Scott Olson/Getty Images.

A boy wearing a mask is carried through an area covered by ash after Mount Sinabung erupted spewing volcanic materials at Berastagi village in Karo district, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Mount Sinabung, which has been intermittently erupting since September, erupted eight times in just a few hours on Sunday. Officials have reported of rocks raining down over a large area, forcing thousands to flee their homes. The Indonesian government has called for people living within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of the volcano, on the northern tip of Sumatra Island, to evacuate their homes as the volcanology agency raised the alert level for the volcano to the highest point on a four-stage scale. By Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images.

Pope Francis meets Russian President Vladimir Putin during a private audience at his library in Vatican City, Vatican on November 25, 2013. By Vatican Pool/Getty Images.

A reader writes:

This photo is a family heirloom. Our family friend Ruth is the woman right of center with the glasses and hat, and the arm in the tan sweater behind the woman in the bikini is our recently lamented Aunt Dorothy. The picture was taken in Santa Monica after the 1960 election, before JFK’s term began.  He’s just out for a swim at the beach. In the context of modern security, this scene is astounding.

Update from a reader:

I instantly recognized that JFK photo from the beach in Santa Monica. It’s an L.A. Times photograph from 1962. The photog, Bill Beebe, talks here about how he got the shot. The woman JFK is smiling at spoke to the paper in 1962. So I guess the term “heirloom” just struck me as odd – considering the picture’s history – and I felt I needed to share.

Thanks for doing so. And major props to Bill Beebe.

Former U.S. Secret Service Agent Clint Hill, who was assigned to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and was in the presidential motorcade during the assassination of U.S. President Kennedy, stands outside the JFK Tribute in Fort Worth, Texas on November 22, 2013. People visited the JFK Tribute on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Kennedy as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas. By Tom Pennington/Getty Images.

A young man wearing a Santa hat searches for food amid the garbage at the municipal rubbish dump, 20 km north of Tegucigalpa, on November 21, 2013. Honduras, one of the poorest Latin American countries, will elect new president on November 24. By Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images.