First published in late 2007, New York-based photographer Paul Graham's A Shimmer of Possibility was hailed as "one of the most important advances in contemporary photographic practice that has taken place in a long while" and was said to "redefine what a photobook can be." Inspired by Chekhov's short stories, the book is a series of photographic vignettes--taken from 2004-2006--of quotidian moments in contemporary American life, which Graham occasionally punctuates with the sublime. For example, there is an image of a man mowing his lawn while it begins to rain and the sun illuminates each drop. These filmic haiku avoid summation; life simply flows past, enveloping the viewer in its beauty.
