Post Grad

Not much to say about these two. I love the expression of the girl on the left.

More presents

Another great shot of some young girl unwrapping her gift. I've noticed that most photos at christmas revolve around materialistic items. Presents, Decorations, Dinner, Trees. Maybe thats because it is so hard to capture the sir it of the holiday season on film. Or, perhaps those material things are so intwined with the emotions we feel this time of year that its hard to tell them apart.

Christmas unboxing

A typical shot of christmas morning, with everyone unwrapping presents, finding out what Santa brought them. One boy got a Walkie Talkie. I wonder where its partner is. On the left it gives the date as JAN 70 ,but thats a little off. It's sad that this photo is no longer with the family, but at least they have the memories. 

This is my entry for Sepia Saturday.

Death

Some photos don't need words on the back to tell a story. This one looks to be at a funeral or hospital. The whittled flowers make it all the more sad. It's one of the smallest photos in my collection.

Ain't she sweet

Even though this is a minuscule photo, less than an inch, it has amazing clarity. On the back, written in fountain pen is:

Ain't she sweet. Incidentally, the spots on my face belong to the veil, not my face                                                            July 1939.

I love this caption. I wonder why she had that veil. Perhaps she was at a funeral, but I feel this was a happier occasion. The background gives us nothing else to go on, but it seems to be chosen carefully. The photographer looks to be somewhat skilled. Or, it as just a fluke. Who knows.

Tiny

One of the defining features of found photos is the size of them. There are very few large no  professional photos. most vernacular ones are no bigger than 6" by 4". Anything more than that is an enlargement. Amateur photography wasn't meant to be large and filled with detail. It was just supposed to document a person or place or event. In the same way as he telephone was only clear enough to hear another voice the consumer photograph was meant to show just enough to get a rough idea of what happened. This one is on the smaller end, measuring less than an inch. However, this one looks to be cut from another, larger photograph. How big it was originally is a mystery.

An Accordion for Christmas

Im sure he was just Thrilled to get this. His parents are probably behind the camera saying
"Come on, smile, We have to show aunt Gerty that you like the gift."Of course, he could be a young Weird Al, just not showing his true emotions. On the back in pink ball point pen it says "December 31, 1951". Strange that it was written on both sides in different pen.

Baby on a chair

A very creative title, I know, but the picture itself is a little better. There are lots of "leading lines" in this photo, which works really well in portrait. However, thats not the reason I bought it. That would be the back, which reads; "A view we see very often." I just love that. Aside from that, there isn't much else to this photo. It was probably taken some time in the 30s or 40s, but I have no idea of the exact date.

Joan

Here is Joan. That is all we will ever know about her. Thats unfortunate, but that is the case. However, there will be more of her coming next week. This photo was originally sepia, but due to scanning issues this is the best you'll get. This photo was originally an inch by half an inch. In other words, its tiny! But even with that, you can still see that Mona Lisa smile.

James and the giant...

Peach. Or apricot, depending on your personal taste. This photo always makes me smile. On the back it says "1966", so it was taken after the release of the Roald Dahl book, which hit shelves in '61. I wonder if the photographer had read it, or if they just wanted to capture a nice day out. This was probably taken at an amusement park or tourist trap in California.