In the 1980s, the NYC Department of Finance commissioned a photographic survey of the city, not for aesthetic merit, but for tax. Now catalogued at 80s.nyc

Nearly every NYC property photographed in the 1940s by 32 WPA photographers for the city’s Tax Department. Referred to as “tax photos,” these images replaced traditional ledgers with visual records, each property marked with its block, lot, borough, and size. Bureaucratic vision made legible!

The Bureau has been commissioned to explore a dis-used railway line and bridge in Slovakia…

PhDArts at Leiden U. is on the verge of getting axed by the 🇳🇱 gov’t; an easy target in this age where knowledge is quantified and tabulated into slogans of grind and mindset.

I was fortunate enough to study here and receive my PhD; consider signing the petition!

www.e-flux.com/notes/668777...

“Peace”

This in relation to @siobhanangus.bsky.social Camera Geologica and Michelle Henning’s Dirty History of Photography would make a great triumvirate of photography’s material history.

The Bureau of Operational Landscapes is getting… operational! Follow along on Instagram @operational.land

All things photography, (operational) landscapes, site-based encounters, mash it all together and you’ve got: The Bureau.

I can’t stand that orange menace, so I was reminded about a brighter moment in American presidential history, with LBJ ordering six pairs of “slacks,” with, uh, shall we say, colourfully detailed requirements. It’s a must listen, terribly funny.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=dohN...

Ukrainians honourably resisted anti-democratic creep in 2014, only to be annexed, then invaded, by Russia, now betrayed by the supposedly democratic beacon that is the USA. What does the US even stand for now, other than vulture, extractive, rapacious capitalism? Can’t believe I’m even writing this.

Another photo list! Dig in.

Jump start your Bluesky photo experience!

Rob’s got a nice list going here:

As neo-imperialism resurges in the USA, here’s a few panoramas of the Panama Canal under construction in 1913. The Canal is emblematic of histories of colonialism, patriarchy, capitalism and the military in the United States.

📸 @nypl.bsky.social

IMPORTANT: If you live in the United States or Canada, you’ve probably heard Trump‘s constant claim that the United States is “subsidizing” Canada. It’s wrong of course, but here’s the best explanation I’ve seen about how & why it’s wrong. PLEASE WATCH & SHARE IT A LOT. Kudos to Andrew Chang & CBC.

1/4 A series of panoramas photographed by the Palestine Exploration Fund between 1871-75 from a geographical scan made of Palestine by the British colonial administration, incorporating 46 different categories, such as: city, village, vicinity, to well, shrine, hilltop, stream, castle, etc.

I plan to curate a list of #photo people — Not a starter pack, a list. This way, you can pin the list to your feed and follow #photographers in a custom feed on Bluesky. It should be a nice way to find new people when you log on. Drop me a line if you want me to add you. Please RT. Thank you!

Never thought you could see the mothership from so far away. Great pic!

Oil drilling platforms have got to be some of the most terrifying structures ever built. A distant landscape of energy production and consumption conducted far beyond the horizon of prying eyes.

I feel like I’m putting on a nice fresh pair of socks here after wearing crusty, hole-ridden, smelly Twitter socks. Hello.