Midnight Ice Cream
Aaron Eames
https://www.instagram.com/mrfoxaaron/
https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/585381446/midnight-ice-cream-photography-zine-art
Midnight Ice Cream is an A5 black and white photography zine featuring images of night life and night calm in the city.
Midnight Ice Cream opens straight away into a series of 24 black and white photos around a big city. (I’m guessing Perth or Melbourne, but I’m not completely sure. It doesn’t really matter to my thinking – more a passing curiosity.) There are no words in this zine, save for any captured in the photos. The zine takes you through what feels like a casual wander, appreciating the city.
Some of the photos are blurred to various degrees while others are crisp and clear. All this adds up to leaving you as the observer to make what you will of any possible themes, messages, or interpretations – or lack thereof – of the collection.
Aaron found a good audience in me in that big city night life holds a certain fascination for me. That is what makes me even more curious about why I felt more drawn to the photos with few or no people. Especially the photo on page four featuring a Subway shop with a bunch of empty chairs inside.
I feel like the choice of a kraft paper cover and interior paper that’s thick enough to stop any shadowing are small but important choices that keep the focus of the zine on the photos inside.
Photography is like other art in that it comes down to personal taste and what you’re drawn to. I wasn’t drawn to every photo in this zine, but I have enjoyed looking through this zine many times. I don’t know if it’s the city or the black and white photography (or both), but I like going through again and again to see if I can notice anything I didn’t see the first time.
Furthermore, I ended up losing some time to scrolling through Aaron’s Instagram feed. Haha.
If you like black and white photography, city-based photography, and/or Aaron’s Instagram feed, then take a look at this zine.
