Truth or Consequences

by Nick Waplington

Nick Waplington has been taking photographs in and around Truth or Consequences, a small town in New Mexico, for nearly ten years. Typical and unremarkable in many ways, the town voted to change its name to that of a celebrated radio quiz show in 1950. Waplington records the town behind the extraordinary name, the lives of its people and the landscape they live in while at the same time constructing a personal tribute to American photography, paying homage to such great pioneers of the genre as Edward Weston and Walker Evans.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2001

Reviews

[Davy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good example of how bigger does not always mean better. I was charmed and impressed by almost all of the 35mm snapshots in this book. They had character, you could feel the residual charge of the moment they were made. Unfortunately, they make up a small percentage of the work here, and I was disappointed in the vast majority of the larger format images. They felt labored-over, too deliberate, and were by and large not substantial enough to justify the formalism. I'd love to see a collection of Waplington's smaller format, more spontaneous photographs.

[Juliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some nice photographs, but doesn't quite capture the magic of this sweet little town in Southern New Mexico.