Category: Pictures From Nowhere

Officer Of The Watch

Today's image comes from an album of 1920s photographs I acquired last year. The photographs seem to be German in origin - the captions are certainly in German - and they must at one time have been precious holiday photos. This particular photograph is from a North Sea cruise undertaken in 1924 and shows Second … Continue reading Officer Of The Watch

A Ride In A Car

A car stands outside a back street shop. This is such an unusual sight that a crowd gathers and everyone is keen to be included in the photograph. A boy sits in the car radiating excitement. A girl sits alongside him, confident in the fact that this will be the first of many such journeys. … Continue reading A Ride In A Car

Found, Preserved And Shared

This photograph, taken 100 years ago in Andermatt, Switzerland, perfectly illustrates the joy of Found Photographs. The ability of a handful of grey and sepia tones to capture an age and tell a story is, as always, astonishing. Such lost and forgotten works of art deserve finding, preserving and sharing.

Picture Window

One of the windows at Cannon Hall in Barnsley had a mesh screen on it. It did interesting things to the shapes. The window frame became a picture frame. The exhibition inside became a viewing platform for the exhibition outside.

Found Magic

This is another of those "Found Photographs" that inhabit old photo albums of unknown people in unknown places. Part faded and part stained sepia with age, it measured no more than 3 by 2 inches. Nevertheless, it is a work of art that could justify a place in many an art gallery. Zoom in on … Continue reading Found Magic

I Wonder

I wonder what they were thinking when they stood there and had their photographs taken 120 or 130 years ago? Perhaps they were thinking of the bride and groom, or maybe the wedding breakfast they were about to enjoy. I bet they weren't thinking that in over a century's time people from all over the … Continue reading I Wonder

Four Girls In A Boat

A random dip into my overflowing box of "Found Photographs" comes up with a strange little print. Badly faded, creased and torn, it nevertheless provides a fascinating insight into a world long gone. Do a high-resolution scan and you can lose yourself in a Mandelbrot set of absorbing images.

Number 82,637 : Spanish Chair Carrier

My Lightroom Catalogue currently has 105,369 photographs I have taken stored on it. A quick calculation suggests that is in the region of 1,368 and a half photos a year, which is a fair old number. Such calculations are an exhausting and slightly pointless exercise - something akin to carrying a chair in the hot … Continue reading Number 82,637 : Spanish Chair Carrier

Torn History

Every picture tells a story, but very often, half a picture tells even more of the story. The picture tells the story of that moment in time when the shutter fired - the family gathered on the doorstep. I have no idea who they are - the photograph was part of a batch of unwanted … Continue reading Torn History