“I hope the feeling of late afternoon winter light takes others to a place of reflection, a momentary lull, space for a short reverie,” Todd Hido tells us about his photo in this current Magnum Square Print Sale. Some of us adore the winter and all the beautiful things it brings about. In this case, Todd’s photo shows us a particular time. In fact, it was shot with his first camera.
The Beautiful Story of a Winter Scene
Todd tells us that this photograph was shot on a little 126 Instamatic camera, a precious gift from his mother when he was 12. “Even after I got to a point in my career where I had ‘proper’ photo equipment, I have continued to carry a version of that camera with me wherever I go,” he shares with us. “I have always struggled to take photographs on sunny days, much preferring to work in the nighttime, or at least under a cover of fog or clouds. But there is something about the combination of sunlight and mist from the edges of Lake Erie (in this case, near Buffalo, NY), which cries out for the dreamy imprecision of the 126.” He continues to say that viewers can think of it as a hazy memory or an ethereal vision of the future. There’s beauty in that statement. Â
In fact, many photographers we’ve interviewed reference Todd Hido as someone who helped shape their work. And when we told him this, he had this to say:
Thatâs incredibly humbling (and honestly, sort of hard to wrap my mind around). But it means so much to me – itâs always really special to see beautiful work made by artists who have had felt some inspiration from my years of taking pictures.
The Kodak Instamatic 126 has a plastic lens, body, and a flash powered by 2 AA batteries. Photographers would go to either end of the spectrum here. Many of us adore the look these cameras give us, and we’ve interviewed many of them here. Yet others still want the clinical clarity of newer lenses.
“It is what many of those little square pictures in 1960-1970’s family albums are filled with. The film was discontinued years ago, but I have a little stash that I use to make images that feel like a memory.”
What Todd Hido Thinks of AI in Photography
Of course, we had to ask a photographer as great as Todd about AI in photography. After all, it’s such a big subject these days. He shares that he’s got a healthy mix of curiosity and caution. “It could be truly helpful and enlightening for some, and for others, it could be destructive and negative,” says Todd. “I do think that it is important to note, obviously that we’re just scratching the surface of what this could beâyet those who seem to have their head wrapped around it are incredibly tentative. Some have called for a ‘pause’ on AI progress, but that’s impossible.” Todd believes that it’s a tool that will be sorted out but that it’s going to be very messy.
Todd further explains that he thinks that it can erode the truth. In fact, he calls it a long, possibly catastrophic landslide. He feels it’s one of the most critical problems in the world on many fronts.
Image by Todd Hido. Check out his website. Used with permission.
Weegee, Miranda Barnes, Roger Deakins, Alfredo Jaar, Hannah Reyes Morales, Larry Sultan, Todd Hido, Judd Apatow, Stuart Franklin, The Anonymous Project, and more are joining Magnum photographers and estates for Vital Signs (April 17â23). During the sale, for one week only, more than 100 museum-quality prints, signed by the photographers or estate-stamped, are available for just $110. All prints will be on view at the Magnum Gallery, London, from Monday, April 17 to Saturday, April 22, and available on the Magnum website.
