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Appreciating Found Photos

image © Jane Waggoner Deschner. from the garment series (little boy, dragon), snapshots of James "Jimmy" Schelfhout, 2011 There is a growing awareness that pre-digital snapshots are quickly becoming obsolete. In view of this more is being written and considered about their cultural value (including about artists who use found photos). In the last few weeks, three note worthy articles have come out on the topic: listen to NPR's interview with Robert Jackson "Are Snapshots Dead?"; read New York Times art critic Roberta Smith's exhibition review: "Not for the Family Album: Snap Noir and Photo Brut Display Found Photos"and feast your eyes on artist Jane Waggoner Deschner's stitched photographs featured this week on John Foster's Accidental Mysteries blog. Hooray for... Read more Barbara Levine, Found photos, Photographica, snapshots, vernacular photographs

Paul Strand on Snapshot Photography

"...the whole concept of the snapshot has to be looked upon in a very broad sort of way.  If you want to use the word snapshot, you should not use it contemptuously. Snapshot should not be a derogatory word. The snapshot is the result of the scientific development of photography, and all developments should b welcomed and used with sensitivity. The snapshot has nothing at all to do with amateurism or casual photography. It can be used by many people for many different reasons; by amateurs and by professionals, and also by artists. There is no one answer to the question of how to photograph. There are many ways, and there are many ways to use the materials that have... Read more 2 comments Barbara Levine, Paul Strand, Snapshot photography

Lee Friedlander on Snapshot Photographs

"It's a swell word (snapshot) I've always liked. It probably came about because it describes a basic fact of photography. Whether the practitioner uses small, medium or large format equipment, or whether his concerns and interests are botanical, animal or folks, landscape or street life, etc., the only relevance is the photograph itself. The pleasures of good photographs are the pleasures of good photographs, whatever the particulars of their makeup." Lee Friedlander. Excerpt from a 1974 article on snapshots in Aperture magazine Read more Barbara Levine, Lee Friedlander, Snapshot photographs

How to Photograph A Swinging Dance Party

It's new. It's NOW! A flashbulb camera captures all the moves at a swinging 60's dance party!

Kodak Instamatic Television Commercial (Eastman Kodak, 1961)