Photography: Sergio Larrain/Lewis Hine

“And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us.” –  Pablo Neruda

I just saw that Sergio Larrain, the great Chilean photographer, died last month.

“Sergio Larrain began photographing the famous Chilean port in the 1950s but it was not until 1963 that he spent more time there, this time, in the company of the poet Pablo Neruda. The text and photographs in Valparaiso were published in the journal Du in 1966. But it had to wait until 1991 before it was published as a book, which has since gained a cult following. Not only did Sergio Larrain ceaselessly climb the narrow streets, the stairs, and the hills of this city frozen in time, but he also shed light on an entire bohemian lifestyle in the neighborhoods nearby the port, which then counted some one hundred brothels and cabarets. The result is a series of pictures that has become an essential reference in the work of this photographer who escapes categorization.”–Magnum Photos

What nonsense/You are/What a crazy/Insane Port./
Your mounded head/Disheveled/You never finish combing your hair/Life has always surprised you

– Pablo Neruda

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Not long ago, I posted about some of the wonderful photos to be found on the Daily Mail website, often from the Library of Congress website. Here are some more.

Working as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee, sociologist Lewis Hine documented working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1924. In a series of poignant photographs, Mr Hine documented children who were sent to work soon after they could walk, and were paid based on how many buckets of oysters they shucked daily. The advent of industrialisation at the turn of the 20th century meant an exploitation of child labour, as factory workers often saw children as a cheaper, more manageable alternative to older workers.

Related articles

• Lewis Hine – Children at work (photographyinamerica.wordpress.com)
• Legendary photographers (blueline2011.wordpress.com)
• Sergio Larrain obituary (guardian.co.uk)
• Lewis Hine: Child oyster shuckers show inhospitable working conditions borne by thousands of children before labour laws were passed (dailymail.co.uk)
• What I learned from a 1939 migrant worker (mappingtheedge.com)
• What America Looked Like: Young Newsies Hawking Papers on the Street (theatlantic.com)
• The Question | Pablo Neruda (closetquean.wordpress.com)
• In My Sky At Twilight by Pablo Neruda (rodfusco.wordpress.com)
• Red Room: Donna Ballman: Why Repealing Child Labor Laws Is a Truly Stupid Idea (huffingtonpost.com)