I recently stumbled across a couple of presets for a gritty, hard-edged black and white work. Think Ralph Gibson and add a bit of grit/contrast (which is saying something).

The set was inspired by a Japanese photographer named Daido Moriyama and what the author referred to as his “gritty, harsh, raw, analogish, punk in some way” style.

Also, Rachel Hulin at the Shoot! The Blog points to a great photo essay entitled “Children of God” on the secretive FLDS in this weeks New York Times Magazine.

I really like the work - it reminds me of some photo essays I saw on the Hutterites - a communal Anabaptist sect amongst whom I grew up in Southern Alberta.