Wanted posters. Two-part portraits. Detective files. Booking photographs.

The mugshot is a pretty interesting phenomenon of photography. Most-interesting to me is that the notion of the modern mugshot we know today was conceived by Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton’s National Defense Agency – during the latter part of the 19th century they were two-faced, on the one face they were the first organized detective agency in the United States, and on the other face they doubled as thugs-for-hire to suppress workers’ unions or other semi-organized groups, through use of overwhelming force. They were interested in criminal justice, yes, but they were also very intimidating motherfuckers at heart, and the mugshot was merely a means to an end.

Anyhow! I was called up about 5 hours before the Thunder Gumbo III and asked if I had my camera available to take mugshots. A little ill-prepared but the results are wonderful. The lighting is a little off-mark, but works. I’m actually fond of the blue background but next time I plan on using this faux cinder block pattern I have, and some lettering or numbering to sequence the CRIMINALS!

If you recognize any of the faces, be sure to tag them on the Facebook album.









































stuffs