In essence, photographs act as a witness to a feeling or emotion. Neal Treadwell and Hugh Nini’s casual collection, 100 Years of Men in Love, is a testimony to love and hope. Show on HereTV, David MillbernThe documentary about Nini and Treadwell’s collection is well worth the 60-minute investment.
I had the opportunity to chat with Treadwell, Nini, and Millbern about the film and the collection.
Risks when taking love photos
Based on the book, In Love: A photographic history of men in love in the 1850s – 1950sdocumentary 100 Years of Men’s Love: Casual Collection, is a deep dive into Nini and Treadwell’s collection of moving vintage photographs of men in love. For decades, Nini and Treadwell have collected images from flea markets, real estate sales and shoe boxes. These photos represent a partnership of love that most people wouldn’t like, if they weren’t completely illegal to photograph.
Taking and preserving these photos is testament to the risks these couples take for love. Intentionally creating evidence that can be used against you is, at least for me, an incomprehensible sacrifice.
Emmy Award-winning Millbern, who teamed with Nini and Treadwell to make his film, explained to me that the collection proves that the joys of male collaboration already exist and should be celebrated think now. For Millbern, we stand on the shoulders of brave couples who have not been able to freely demonstrate their commitment to one another.
We stand on the shoulders of brave couples who have not been able to freely demonstrate their commitment to one another.
Use Pullback Shot to perfect
Watching the film feels like a stretch of slow motion, revealing that these couples have taken the opportunity to commemorate their love in the face of prejudice and peril that is fraught with excitement. I find myself pondering the hope these men must have despite the sadness that, for the most part, these relationships must be kept hidden. Millbern explains to me that he uses a crop crop and then pulls it back to create a sense of exposure and discovery for the audience, as if they are also participating in photographic exploration.
The film takes the time to review numerous images from Nini and Treadwell’s collection, including images that might at first be seen as ordinary photographs, only to reveal more intimate touches as the frame opens. wide.
Touch the foot:
Thigh Touch:
As the documentary went on, Millbern included more and more photographs of undeniable love and intimacy from Nini and Treadwell’s collection.
Sometimes, Millbern speeds up the sharing of photos. To the audience, this is like a waterfall of love and proof of love.
Note
Old-fashioned watermarked photographs give owners the opportunity to write quick stories or long poems on the back. The movie highlights a few footnotes, but I had to ask Nini and Treadwell what their favorites were. Both Nini and Treadwell chose captions that sum up the intimate nature of the image, the boldness associated with the act of taking the photo:
John says that David shared Eddie’s feelings with a different kind of love.
I send you a picture that will perhaps reveal a part of my life.
Where does the collection start?
I’m curious where Nini and Treadwell’s collection comes from. For Nini and Treadwell, the documentary is aptly named, An Accidental Collection. After finding a single image felt like a stroke of luck, Nini and Treadwell never expected to find more. Nini and Treadwell are constantly amazed that the images have lasted so long. Sure, there is a risk in taking pictures, but keeping them, hidden or not, increases the danger. The fact that the images were kept long enough to make it to vintage markets is another sign that the men in the pictures harbor hopes for their love.
Picking up other photos as they came across them, when Nini and Treadwell realized they had collected close to 300 photos, the couple had to admit they had a collection in hand. Showing a small group of friends the images, arranging the images here and there as time allowed, Nini and Treadwell decided they had to do something better for the collection. If the men photographed took the risk to capture and preserve these images, then Nini and Treadwell thought they had to share and celebrate them.
Something better needs to be done to celebrate the photos.
Nini and Treadwell exhibited parts of their collection to a vintage photography supplier. Nini and Treadwell hope the supplier will appreciate the collection as an odd and very niche collection. Instead, the supplier recognized the value that Nini and Treadwell saw and enthusiastically offered to publish the collection. Nini and Treadwell explained that almost every publisher they spoke to was interested.
Where to find Collections now?
Nini and Treadwell confirm that the success of their book has made collecting that much more difficult. Essentially, the book has spawned hundreds of collectors who are now searching for similar images. This makes the image even rarer than before, which, when supply and demand decide, drives up the price.
The book’s success prompted contacts with a number of galleries. Unfortunately, COVID ended the plan before the screenings could actually begin. I explained to Nini and Treadwell that I could imagine posters for their shows at bus stops around town. Mysteriously, Nini and Treadwell told me there was indeed big news regarding a program in the works.
Nini and Treadwell are thrilled that Millbern’s documentary will amplify the message of such a successful book. If it weren’t for the upcoming material, I’m not sure I’d have come across the collection, so Millbern’s instinct to make a full documentary should be commended.
One Other terms Note
There are several photos in the documentary that show one of the men holding a spoon in his trouser leg. Nini and Treadwell also noticed this. After doing a little research, Nini and Treadwell explain that a spoon was a simple flirt or could be used to flirt in the mid-19th century. Women would tuck a spoon into their clothes. surname. Apparently some of the couples depicted in the collection decided to adopt it.
All images are provided by LOVING: The Nini-Treadwell Collection.
