The Last Day Of Our Youth by Paul B Baker (Collated Observations 22)
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Collated Observations is a series of regular photozines showcasing aspects of modern life through the lens of a different UK-based photographer each issue.
This month we welcome Paul B Baker, a Liverpool-based photographer with an interest in the role everyday landscapes play in the sculpting of ourselves, through our interactions with places both new and familiar, safe and unquiet.
The Last Day Of Our Youth
Shot over the course of one of those unusually warm, lazy, wonderful British summer days, the images in this series depict an afternoon seeping into evening, as a group of 30-something friends on the cusp of middle age forget that they have any other responsibilities outside of drinking, playing football and enjoying that electric thrill of being alive.
Watching, living, photographing, it seemed vital to document the moment. It could so easily be lost. And not just men larking as boys, but that background buzz, the summer we ignore. Things humming in the grasses beyond, creatures swooping to take another smaller life out of the sky, flowers struggling to drink enough from the earth and wring every last drop of light from the glowering sun. Nature going about its vital business.
In my mind it really felt like the last day of our youth. Like a dream of childhood summers, when the warmth lasts into evening and the day seems to go on forever. We have no concerns, no thoughts, except enjoying this moment. But we can only block out the everyday and the inevitable for so long.
For now, let’s forget about tomorrow.
Ltd run of 50 hand numbered copies.
Free Postcard.
40 pages cover-to-cover, perfect bound.
Digitally printed on 170gsm silk paper, 300 gsm cover with matt laminate.
