Glasses you could fry ants with

These glasses were the reason that the term "Coke bottle lenses" was invented. You can't even see her eyes, but that could just be the camera angle. Im guessing this was shot in a rural area, judging by the PVC pipe and pen in the background. I wonder how old she was. Definitely over 90, but how close to 100? Your guess is as good as mine.

Fresh Fruits!

A lovely photo of a small town crookery store, before huge chains like Sobey's or COOP. Outside with all its fresh bananas and watermelons. The sing says "Wise's Grocery -- 32----" Who knows where it is, but judging from all of the exotic fruits, probably not Canada.

A hardy meal

I just returned from vacation where I enjoyed many a great meal. Who knows if this was a special occasion, but the photographer must have wanted to capture something about it. Yum Yum!

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.

Ananas

The french word for Pineapples, which I found immensely funny in elementary school. These people seem to be peeling (?) a lot of them. A luau, perhaps? Behind the chain link fence there appear to be even more in the ground, so this is probably Hawaii or somewhere apse as tropic. When I first saw this photo, I didn't even notice what the man was doing, I could only look at that woman's glasses. Almost as big as Edna Modes from The Incredibles. They go with her dress. How go-go.

Oh Canada

I just love these small Kodachrome prints. these ones were taken in september 1960. On the sing it says "Canadian royal mounted police". Based on the trees, this was probably taken in Ontario or British Colombia. I still haven't figured out exactly where.

Nouveau

Vernacular photos usually stop being collectible in the 70s. This was around the time that borderless photos came into fashion, which took away a lot from the photo. It became a picture, more than an object. These are from the late 90s, and were found in a frame at a thrift store. I wonder why someone thought that these rather unremarkable photos deserved a place on there wall. who knows.

Up, up and away

Some photos that you find you can figure out instantly. This one is one of them. The only question is why they took the photo. Was it for insurance, or just for proof. Who knows. I love vintage cars, but I can never get  truck names right. I believe this is a late 50's chevy or GMC, but any info would be nice. Thanks!

The same but different

Sometimes when you are at a flea market or buy a group lot on eBay, it's easy to spot photos that come from the same family. It could be the handwriting on the back, the development sticker, or maybe a familiar face. But sometimes, they seem completely different. In this one, I almost didn't see that they were taken in the same room. Both had different people in them, and were shot at angles that were slightly different that I had no clue they were related. What tipped me off was the fruit painting in the top right corner. If not for that, these two would never have been together.

Trim and a haircut

Some people who collect photos only focus on the image. The image is the most important thing, but we shouldn't forget that a found photo is a 3 diminutional object. Some have borders, some have smudges or ripped corners. Some, like this one, have been trimmed, perhaps to fit in an album, or just for aesthetics. This one really helps with what would be a rather pedestrian photo.

Theater

This photo was snapped in 1974, which is the tail end of being "Collection worthy".  Some people cut it off at world war II, and some stop at the 21st century. But in the early 70s, cameras became even more popular and photos stopped having a certain "feel". It's very hard to describe, but they felt less special, with no border to speak off and better colour reproduction. Since the 110 negatives were smaller, the photos often turned out worse than brownie from 30 years ago. This photo seems to have bucked the trend, and still feels unique. Maybe its the black and white, or maybe its the pose, but it still feels like a true found photo to me.

Vignette

This shot was obviously taken by a professional. It was put on some very nice postcard stock and looks to have stood the test of time well. Unfortunately, there is no information on the back, so it could have been reprinted. All we have is this woman's face, fading away.

C.S. Lewis

A lovely group of kids, sometime near christmas, showing of their sweaters. On the back
Sue 17-Senior                                                  
Doug 16-Jr                                                            
Annie 13-8th                                                      
 Janet 10-5th                                                        
Christmas 1961-Betzalds
They could almost be the Pevensies.  Janet has a strong resemblance to Lucy, and Sue could easily pass for Susan. Perhaps behind that wooden wall, Narnia lies.

Polaroid

Polaroids have always had their charm, whether it be a classic sx-70 with the iconic borders, or the colour pack film with its over saturated pictures. But another great kind is the black and white shots. This one is from the 60s or 70s at some unnamed play park. That jungle gym is probably still their. Happy kids, smiling faces.

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.

A villa on the water.

Sometimes, black and white can make water look spectacular. Maybe it was taken in a low lying boat, or it could be on a shore bank. Either way, They got a good perspective. I'm no architect, but the buildings don't look north american. It could just be a style. Wherever it is, It looks like a wonderful place to relax.
This is part of an eBay lot of 300 photos. To see others from that collection, click the "300" tag.

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.

Summer fling

Before the rivers and ponds all freeze over for winter, lets have a little feeling of summer. lying on a beach, listening to the tide roll in and out. This looks more like a lake, judging by the tree life. It could be anywhere. No help from the back. Wherever it was, we can assume they had fun.