303/365: XV – The Devil
"Lucifer. Mephistopheles. Satan. The Prince of Darkness. No matter what we call him, the Devil is our symbol for what is bad and undesirable. From our human perspective, we see the world as a struggle between light and dark. We want to vanquish the bad so the good can prevail. In fact, good and bad cannot be separated, just as you cannot separate a shadow from its source. Darkness is simply the absence of light, and it is caused by errors that hide the truth."
Joan Bunning, Learning the Tarot
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Devil's Night (October 30)
Devil's Night is a longstanding tradition predating World War II, with anecdotal incidents occurring as early as the 1930s. Traditionally, youths in the Detroit area engaged in a night of criminal behavior, which usually consisted of acts of vandalism (such throwing eggs at the homes of neighbors, or stringing toilet paper in trees) . These were almost exclusively petty vandalism acts, causing little to no property damage other than perhaps a damaged mailbox or eggs hardening on windows. These acts still go on today, and the "criminals" almost never face prosecution.
However, in the early 1970s a dark side of this holiday emerged and the vandalism escalated to more severe acts such as arson. This primarily took place in the city but surrounding suburbs were not entirely immune. Property owners unable to sell in the rapidly declining Detroit city housing market would use this night as an excuse to burn down their homes to collect insurance money. These incidents were blamed on Devil's Night hooligans, greatly adding to the notoriety of the night.
The crimes became more destructive in Detroit's inner-city neighborhoods, and included hundreds of acts of arson and vandalism every year. The destruction reached a peak in the mid- to late-1980s, with more than 800 fires set in 1984, and 500 to 800 fires in the three days and nights before Halloween in a typical year.
Comments and faves
kakilino78, Thomas Synnamon, Big Dave Deluxe, nndosi, and 82 other people added this photo to their favorites.
malik ml williams (56 months ago | reply)
Happy Devil's Night, y'all!!!
;-)
trishlet (56 months ago | reply)
just such crazy light.
and i'm happy to not live in indian village anymore.
kakilino78 (56 months ago | reply)
great great great great! you really look like a magician. perfect composition and amazing light
Ĝiøvanni (56 months ago | reply)
You are crazy bro! Kisses, great image.
ℵ (56 months ago | reply)
are you saying the devil is black?
nbm22 [deleted] (56 months ago | reply)
Eerie shot. Well done!
premamusic (56 months ago | reply)
hell yeah homey, way to get that detailed, specular light on the face
Atila (56 months ago | reply)
ki king ass
fannybunda (56 months ago | reply)
great picture! I especially like the hand and the expression on your face
malik ml williams (56 months ago | reply)
trishlet, no doubt. though i hear it's not so bad anymore...
kakilino78, thanks! i think i might do "the magician" next. or "the high priestess." ;-)
ςiovanni, thanks, baby!
me vs art, hardly. though i am black. and this is a self portrait. actually, my vision of the devil is not about presenting the devil in the person, but in focusing on what is external rather than internal.
sexibitionist, thanks!
premamusic, thanks to lots and lots of layers. oh, and nearly blinding myself staring into a 500 watt tungsten bulb...
Atila, lol! thanks!!
fannybunda, thanks! it took me a few to get both where i wanted them.
Wilhemina Lump Lump (56 months ago | reply)
see there, I told ya...lol just too dang creative.
ashcastro (56 months ago | reply)
thsi is a beautiful portrait.. you are a good model Malik
malik ml williams (56 months ago | reply)
Wilhemina Lump Lump, said the woman with the funky afro wig...
ashcastro, thanks! i do better with someone like you in front of the camera. ;-)
AngelJob (53 months ago | reply)
Hola, soy el administrador de un grupo llamado Impacto Varonil / Male Impact y nos encantaría agregar tu foto al grupo.
_af_ (52 months ago | reply)
Cool picture, I took the liberty to use it in a completely not serious context.
flickr.com/photos/genevainformation/226860281 3/
-liyen- (49 months ago | reply)
Cool..
--
Seen in a discussion of You vs. the Best. (?)
aumbody images (49 months ago | reply)
the lighting is perfect. Awesome photograph
Kaffeklubben (49 months ago | reply)
Wonderful atmosphere and cool idea for a self-portrait!
~Tuey~ (49 months ago | reply)
Congrats Malik, add it to the pool You vs. the Best
studionumber9 (45 months ago | reply)
a positively fantastic image...
juiz (45 months ago | reply)
Found your image here: www.spring.org.uk/2008/09/how-to-improve-your -self-contro... Thought it looked familiar.
_CorpseBride_ (44 months ago | reply)
really stunning
pallapinco (moved to "mida84") (44 months ago | reply)
Fantastic image! I really love it!
If you want take a look to this photostream...(It's where I post some serious stuff.. ) it is not so bad! I'd really appreciate it!
Comment posted with .
icephotography.net (41 months ago | reply)
Straight up brilliance!
kawells (39 months ago | reply)
Thanks for CC licensing this, Malik. I used it here.
Gabriella Carta (Italy) (36 months ago | reply)
fantastic!!! great work, good
Maneesh Foto (35 months ago | reply)
Hi Malik,
This wonderful image qualifies for automatic admission to the Hall of Fame at The Pinnacle. Please add this to the group.
Gabriella Carta (Italy) (33 months ago | reply)
Please add this great image to
the Nikon Award Group!
"Nikon Award" Post 1 Award 3
rzrxtion (pronounced resurrection) (33 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called That would be SUCH an album cover, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
okay...
when this night was referenced in The Crow, I wondered if it was based on reality or not
and evidently it is
great image BTW
Harry Szpilmann (31 months ago | reply)
Something magic in it...
{{ A N G E L }} | Email: am.creation@live.com (26 months ago | reply)
Superb!!!
Frans Persoon (19 months ago | reply)
wow!!
Choong Hou (18 months ago | reply)
nice. :)
jib.foubert (17 months ago | reply)
Very expressiv !
_KlaSh_ (9 months ago | reply)
nice shot !!
artland (7 months ago | reply)
Congratulations!
This is a wonderful shot!
You are invited to post it to:
artland
73-photography (3 months ago | reply)
wow!! it is a great picture.
i was looking around on the Internet for ideas to make a self-portait when i saw yours.
great!