O.W. Root

Everything and everyone is saturated to the gills with political commentary, hot takes, discourse, and pissed-off snark. People and the internet are so filled with all of this they don’t really have time or space for anything else. Longtime followers know that I think this whole culture and drift is toxic and erodes the human spirit and the possibility of culture and life. You also know I am most interested in writing about, talking photos of, and exploring life in our modern world. Trying to make, and document, (honest) life as art in our age of clickbait-algo spectator reactive discourse. For the past six months I have been working on compiling a collection of short essays and vignettes I have written over the years into a single print volume and I am thrilled to share it with you. In curating this collection for print I was adamant about a few things. I wanted a classic, simple, beautiful design inside and out. I wanted a book that you could carry around, toss on your bed, put in your pocket, shove in your bag, manhandle on the beach, write in, write on, and everything else in-between. For me, the point of this collection isn’t to produce an epic hardcover tome. It’s something more informal and approachable. Something simpler and relatable. I’ve always loved those little paperbacks. You know, the ones they say they aren’t going to make anymore. Well, I want to still make them or something similar to them. I wanted this collection to be as close as possible to that rugged, personal, carefree spirit. The book itself is about 5 in. X 7.75 in.. About as small as you can get these days. The design is simple and (hopefully) timeless, the font is warm, the margins are ample, and the pieces honest. There’s a link in my linktree / bio to Amazon where you can Buy Modern Lives. Or of course, just search Amazon as we all so often do and that will work just as well. No politics, no hot-takes, no reaction, no discourse; just life.

The little vignettes shared with each film photo are lovely. They personalize the photograph even more and add a human dimension that makes me feel closer to the photographer. Real photos, real people, real life.

Beach

@wholikesrocks 🤣

@owroot Those poor Danish hens!

Europeans: We need AC, we are too hot, we are dying European Food Manufacturers: We’ve created a long egg

@mrarlorabbit Hahha, are you serious? God bless them.

@owroot Some people in hospitality quit their career in response to this monstrosity 🫡

@Sports64006116 @BoringBiz_ 100

@BoringBiz_ @owroot this guy is spitting

The FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement has done an immense amount of harm to society This is coming from someone who used to be a believer in FIRE, but I have realized just how much of a fallacy it is, as I have grown older Taking a bunch of high potential income earners and convincing them that their life goal should be to pursue a net worth that allows them to check out of society is immensely damaging to the social fabric Many of these people sit on the upper echelon of office jobs, have built great businesses, or are at the top of their field in their career field They should be inspired to continue doing what they are best at, and ultimately, mentor and give back to the next generation who want to pursue those same goals Instead, many of these FIRE folks become wandering retirees with a meaningless life who are trying to grasp on to money as their north star It is a false sense of security and accomplishment. Becoming wealthy should never be a goal in the first place. It should have always been to pursue something that adds meaning to your own life and to society It is a completely fallacy to believe that retiring will be your source of happiness. More often than not, it has the complete opposite effect

It’s summer, it’s scorching, and we have passed two, three, and four buttons unbuttoned and have arrived at a five buttons unbuttoned day. Loose J Press butcher stripe, flowing in the warm wind, barely buttoned SUMMER GLORY

@sceptic1126 Right?! They are amazing. This is the place, with more photos - enjoyer.com/when-a-cottage…

@owroot Understand and agree with all you said, but just mesmerized by the lamp and chairs. Kudos to your uncle for his cabin decorating.

A post of mine from just about two years ago. My wife and I were staying at my uncle's cabin in Northern Michigan. We live in Northern Michigan too, actually north of his Cabin! (ha!) but it's still nice to stay in a cabin and he has a classic one, a really old one, one that truly exemplifies 1920s log cabin vibes near Frankfort, and we stayed there, just the two of us, for a few nights in August. It was really nice. Just to get away from the kids for a couple days. We love them of course, but it was nice to be just us for a couple days in such quiet old place. I think parents need that kind of thing. You are on so much of the time that just a couple days away reinvigorates and helps reset you in a really much needed way. It doesn't have to be super fancy, but just somewhere different, where you can think of yourself as just a person and not a parent for a a brief period.

@Kawazacky This is a good move. This is the only way I have shot my DSLR for the past 10 - 15 years. Old Nikon prime glass lenses (their mount has remained the same so no adapter needed). It gets you about as close to the old look as you can when using digital.

@owroot It can even be retro on SD card if you put an old film lens on a digital camera via adapter. Try it.

The world is retro on 35mm film.

@MrPerfectPhilip Can’t wait to see your shots. Submit any you want to share in a DM to @film20archive !

@owroot I just bought a 35mm camera today, very excited to shoot

@MrPerfectPhilip Can’t wait to see your shots!

New (old) camera

Notice how much brown there is in this scene. Brown was a real 70s color though it was still strong to quite strong through the 80s (like here) because there is always a lag. But it was everywhere. Our world is more grey and less brown today.

@wyclif Right?!

@owroot "Is it real, or is it a Wes Anderson film?"

It's super interesting how our conception about "traditional foods" is really only so old. That's not to undercut them or anything but it's just a really fascinating thing how these things which we think of as being totally stationary and rooted and planted forever were not. The potato is probably the craziest one for a lot of Americans. When we think of the potato we think of Ireland but it was a new world vegetable!

Cope and Seethe. Love, Michigan

No AI, no falseness. Just beautiful reality, on film.

Linen was made for the beach