Todd Hido - Excerpts From Silver Meadows

Todd Hido

My favorite book from my favorite photographer. Everything in there is very cinematic. I just don't know how to describe his work apart from this word, cinematic, the images are so much talking to me, from an emotional perspective, not a specific one, but just the one that moves your guts, blow your mind, everytime you look at it.

Excerpts from Silver Meadows

He usually shoots mostly three things. First, landscapes, from his car, so you always have some rain/fog appearing on the photo from the windows he's shooting through.  That's one of his main activity through several books as well. One can see muddy roads, dead trees, leading line from all these things you can find on these really countryside roads. Then they are the colors, which are magnificient, again very cinematic, dramatic. He's like a painter. By the way he makes his own prints, from which his books are made from.

After they are "urban landscapes" where he shoots houses (we can feel the Robert Adams' influence); where there is inside one or two rooms illuminated; so you are wandering yourself what are they looking at. It gives also the impression on intimacy; same as for the one when you look at TV, when your broadcaster is inviting himself at your place or more precisely, you are inviting him as you choose to watch him. With the light coming out of the windows at night, it gives this very cinematic feeling again.

Then they are portrait; sometimes they are introduced by outside motels pictures, with neon lights sometimes alley with cars. Yes, he's taking his photos of women inside motel rooms; where he will put away the cover sheet to give a flavor of not everything being perfect, a bit of messy, like the person really slept there, the curtain also will be half closed.

The pictures are mostly nude, erotic but never pornographic, I found them very explicit; I am just a basic guy you know, but never dirty , crude or unrespectful for the woman he is shooting at; he has one main model Kristina but not only, you can find several other models (especially in one of his other  books, Between The Two).

The book is like a road movie.  I am really in love with his work and especially this one. And by the way, the book is huge also, so it is like looking at a series of prints; no pictures are coming across two pages. They all fit into one page, which is also very immersive for the reader.

Really, I love Todd Hido, he is the best one to me; nobody can move my heart and soul like he does.