This is one of my special secret collections. When I started collecting these old photos and showed them off to my family they were a bit freaked out and confused. They didn't understand why anyone would want photos of people they didn't know. My younger sister worried that the spirits of these people would haunt me but I didn't really understand that. If anything you would think their spirits would be happy to see that someone isn't just tossing their memories in the trash or a dusty attic. I really love the black and white photography which is what my collection is made up of. As for subject it really doesn't matter I enjoy portraits, landscapes, and every day shots. My favorites are those that have a defect like half the picture is missing or there is a blur or strange angle. I also really enjoy spooky looking portraits or family pictures that were carefully set up.
Your probably wondering why I feel such a strong connection to these photos. I don't have hardly any old photos from my family history, it's something that always made me sad. I also enjoy the pictures for inspiration. They really are beautiful to me... I can't put my finger on it. I can't believe anyone would toss these in a yard sale or even the trash.
I keep these safely away from light and dust and pull them out from time to time when I just want to be inspired.
I've always found it strange how in so many of the older photos they're usually not smiling. Most of them have this straight, serious face. Even the children. As you've studied art history, you know that many painted portraits are that way too. I wonder when It became more common to smile for photos.
ReplyDeletebelieve it or not... I am such a dork I actually know why people didn't smile back then for paintings or photos. It's because people had to sit a long time and sit very still to get their portrait painted and it was harder for them to hold a smile so they didn't. Same with photography it would take so long back then to take a photo because of the exposure that people had to stand real still and holding a smile for that long was nearly impossible without the risk of it corrupting the picture. Pretty neat huh? Now we can just snap a picture or painters can just use a picture of us smiling to paint our portrait!
ReplyDeleteThat makes so much sense!
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