Jamie Livingston
Jamie Livingston (October 25, 1956 – October 25, 1997) was a New York-based photographer, film-maker and circus performer. Between March 31, 1979, and October 25, 1997, the day of his death, he took a single picture nearly every day with a Polaroid SX-70 camera. Livingston's 'Polaroid a Day' photographic diary started at Bard College and though 86 photos have gone missing from the collection, 6,697 Polaroids remain.
Jamie Livingston
- Name
- Jamie Livingston
- Born
- 25 October 1956
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Died
- 25 October 1997
- Occupation
- Photographer, film-maker, circus performer
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- Bard College
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Jamie Livingston (October 25, 1956 – October 25, 1997) was a New York-based photographer, film-maker and circus performer. Between March 31, 1979, and October 25, 1997, the day of his death, he took a single picture nearly every day with a Polaroid SX-70 camera. Livingston's 'Polaroid a Day' photographic diary started at Bard College and though 86 photos have gone missing from the collection, 6,697 Polaroids remain.
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wikidata · Q3161543 · wikipedia · Jamie Livingston
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Biography
Biography
The collection, dated in sequence, has been organized by his friends Hugh Crawford and Betsy Reid into an exhibit at the Bertelsmann Campus Center at Bard College called "Photo of the Day", which opened in 2007.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jamie Livingston • Birth Name — Jamie Livingston • Born — 25 October 1956 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 25 October 1997 • Place of death — New York City, U.S. • Occupation — Photographer, film-maker, circus performer • Website — http: photooftheday.hughcrawford.com/
Biography
Biography
Livingston was a member of Chris Wangro's circus troupe The Janus Circus founded by Wangro at Bard College with other Bard Alumni including Zeena Parkins. He also worked as a cinematographer and editor of music videos for MTV, as well as working on advertisements with Nike. In 1979, Livingston received a Polaroid camera and after a few weeks noticed that he was taking about one photo a day, which subsequently evolved into the Polaroid a Day project. Livingston's Polaroid a Day charted his experiences with a brain tumor, and his subsequent engagement and marriage. Crawford cited the "everyman quality to the photographs" as part of their appeal, with the collection documenting everything from Livingston's lunch that day to the discarded Kodak and Polaroid packaging in a bin to TV screens showing presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. Because Livingston took only one picture and kept it regardless, the day-to-day often took precedence over more unusual subjects. His photographs in and out of hospital continued up until the day of his death.
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authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3161543: Jamie Livingston
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reference work
- “Jamie Livingston”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Fox News. Daily Polaroids Detail Last 18 Years of NYC Man's Life. 2008-05-31.
- 2.Higgins, Chris. He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died. mental floss. 2008-05-21.
- 3.Photo of the Day, by Bard Alumnus Jamie Livingston On View in October. Bard College Press Release. 2007-09-13.
- 4.Dee, Johnny. Instant recall. The Guardian. 2008-08-13.
- 5.Crawford, Louise. Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn: Jamie Livingston.
- 6.Shaftel, David. The Days of His Life. The New York Times. 2008-10-10.
- 7.Photo of the Day website: 1990.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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