June 27, 2002
Schumin All Over The Place
I hadn't visited Ben Schumin's Schumin Web for a while; when I finally did, today, I was astounded. Ben's been as active as a third-base coach with chicken pox, and his photo essays page has gone far beyond a simple trip to Walmart.
The photo essays gallery now includes, along with many many others, virtual tours of his encounter with the briny deep, his trip to the FDR Memorial. as well as a spirited afternoon following a Zamboni around.
Schumin Web is hard to explain. The photo essays are deceptively simple, and one is tempted to dismiss the photographer/essayist as too obsessed with minutiae. But underneath the top layer is a hypnotic writing style, a unique blend of folksy homespun wisdom and calculated opinion-mongering.
Sorry to get all Harold Bloom there, but Schumin has a way of doing that to ya.*
(*Note: Don't take this entry literally)
Posted by michaelf at June 27, 2002 10:42 PMComments
He's quite a wordsmith, that Ben Schumin. A few gems:
".. though the full effect is not truly shown off until you're right on top of her." (Oh, that's about a ship.)
"Before any trip to a museum of news, it's a good idea to see just what the news is. " (In which he takes photos of that day's newspapers before taking photos in the Museum of News. So crafty!)
"Note that since this was a nice day outside, the Ice Park was lit mostly by natural light, and thus the minimal amount of artificial light was in use." (I feel the urge to offer complimentary editing services to trim down those sentences but what fun would that be?)
Posted by: sooz at July 1, 2002 02:27 AM
In the wake of the crashing waves of entertainment giants like iCAST, it's reassuring to find that gems like Schumin Web have survived. Thanks for reminding me of this one.
Posted by: ForkBoy at July 3, 2002 01:08 PM
Ben has kept focused. He hasn't brought in waves of management to shift the direction of his site, his lavish launch parties have been kept to a minimum (as far as I can see), and he realizes a successful Web site is all about content! Content!
And more content.
Posted by: Michael at July 3, 2002 09:31 PM
