Saturday Snapshots {August 22, 2009}

In my perpetual journey through the history of the mid-twentieth century I constantly encounter a truly diverse and incredibly lovely array of photographs that were taken not of famous starlets, legendary singers or others who stood in the limelight, but of wonderful everyday people doing all manner of everyday activities.

These snapshots of the past are, to my mind, as profound (if not more so) than all the celebrity photos imaginable, for they captured the lives of people just like you and I, who were not likely famous, well-known or trailed by paparazzi. Such images were taken by friends, coworkers, neighbours, mothers, fathers, siblings, all manner of relatives – sometimes even by the subject themselves, self portraits being eternally popular, or even by strangers. Sometimes they’re a little blurry, over or underexposed. They may show someone “caught in action” or striking a pose worthy of a Vogue cover. They show the ordinary and the extraordinary moments of lives which were lived just a few decades ago. Some of the people in these kinds of photos may still be alive, others have passed on, and all have in the common the fact that the era they were captured on film in has long since passed.

In these photos we see the lives of strangers, but sense something familiar about them. Who amongst us hasn’t smiled for the camera a thousand times, some of those photos you likely treasured others were forgotten nearly as soon as the shutter released. In looking at photos from the past we see stark differences and overwhelming similarities with the present. After all, “people”, as both my husband and songstress Regina Spektor are fond of saying, “are just people”. This honest statement applies aptly to those whose names we may not know, but find ourselves able to relate to when we see their faces in black and white or faded colour snapshots.

Photographs carry with them a tremendous power, they are often the last living memory of a moment, a link to the past which, I believe, truly deserves to be cherished and preserved for as long as humanly possible. To this extent I decided to start a new segment for Chronically Vintage. Some weeks on Saturdays, I will post a random array of photos of ordinary people from the years spanning the 1920s to the very early 1960s, which I’m calling Saturday Snapshots.

I hope you will join me as we peer into, and garner inspiration from, the daily lives of those who were a living, breathing part of an era that you and I so often strive to capture and celebrate in our own modern world.

♥ ♥ ♥



{There isn’t a single element – from the fantastic Stardust sign to the stylish woman’s stunning gown – that I do not adore about this 1959 photo that was taken in Las Vegas.}



{The little girl in this photo is identified as “Margaret” and the dog as “Beacon”, the timeline is listed as the “early 50s”. While we only see portions of the houses, it looks like a lovely – and in its day, fairly modern – neighbourhood.}



{I like the composition of this shot; we see both the little boys faces, yet do not get to peer upon mom’s. Leaving one to wonder what this woman, in her pretty summer dress, was thinking as she gazed out at the tree covered Smokey Mountains of Tennessee.}



{A smartly dressed, beautiful young woman works away at the typewriter in this photo from 1922. She is identified as being Dorothy Bronson, a reporter from the Chicago Daily News.}



{A group of female students from Harvard look on attentively during a life saving class. A date is not given for this photo, but based on the lovely ladies’ hairstyles and swimsuits, I’d peg it as being from the later forties or early fifties.}



{A group of five people (relatives, friends?) gather round the stylishly set kitchen table, one of them holding up a delicious looking strawberry pie, in this 1955 colour photo that was taken in Huntington Park, California.}



{The crispness of the colours in this photos from 1954 are superb, as are the outfits the glamorous ladies are sporting as they head into the Cliff House Restaurant in San Fransico.}



{Someone from the 1950s thought the grand opening of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Fargo, North Dakota was worth taking a snapshot of, and can you blame them, that pig mascot is pretty cute! Just wish they would have got more of the sleek red car on the right into the shot :-) }



{An attractive young couple, identified as being Rafael and Leonor, pose rather somberly for the camera in this portrait taken in Puerto Rico, in 1945.}



{Jack and Yvonne’s wedding looks it was a gorgeous day – just as their matrimonial finery was – in this undated black and white photo (location not specified).}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}


These photos – and those that will appear in future editions of this post – are very random, but each one is tells a story that ties into the collective experience of life that we’re all a part of. I hope you enjoyed this first edition of Saturday Snapshots, I would love to hear your thoughts on these wonderful vintage snaps.

The photographic illusionist

When one watches a talented magician’s act, though you are keenly aware that what you’re observing is, at its root, skilled deception, it rarely matters, for you are engaged in the entertainment and sense of awe that comes with viewing a master at work. The enjoyment and wonder that stems from being a part of the audience sweeps you up and sets your imagination a flutter, as you try to decipher the secrets behind what you’ve just witnessed.

This very feeling is what resonated through me the moment I discovered the incredible creations of a Ukrainian gentleman who goes by the moniker Retroatelier. At the heart of this fellow’s sublime work is re-enactment style photography. However his shots are blended with an unparalleled sense of post-production artistry that turns historical themed photos into pieces so astoundingly beautiful and attentive to detail that one cannot help feel as though you’re staring through the looking glass of time, observing not so much a photograph, but an actual moment from the distant, mysterious past.













































{The images above are but a small sampling of the stunning, origional photos displayed on Retroatelier’s website, which I truly recommend you visit.}


Retroatelier succeeds in marrying the most modern of techniques with the epitome of well-crafted historical settings and perfectly costumed models. His work embodies elegance, grandeur and markedly great skill. With a camera, props, period clothing and computer retouching work, he brings to life history with the sort of sophisticated aplomb that makes it seem as though doing so is the easiest thing in the world.

As though he was a magician performing under a stage name, I can find little information about this incredible artist (beyond his website and other online haunts such as Model Mayhem and LiveJournal), yet I really do not feel as though I need to know more. I love that these remarkable nouveau-vintage pieces were crafted by someone who leaves you enthralled, impressed, and deeply eager to see what incredible feats he has up his sleeve – or perhaps more aptly, up his lens.

Absolutely beautiful photo booth friends

Sometimes I find myself thinking about all of the incredible pictures – whether for their subject matter or skill level – that have been taken since the invention of photography. I would venture to guess that most of them were taken with the hope of preserving a moment in time for as long as possible. This common thread amongst photos is a large part of why people adore taking them so much. We all want to grasp onto the present, however fleeting it may be.

Many of the photos taken over the decades – and now centuries – have been lost to the hands of time, but thankfully (and perhaps almost amazingly given the very delicate nature of photo paper) some of them have been preserved. I adore old pictures even if I haven’t the slightest clue who the people in them are. In fact sometimes not knowing is part of the joy. You can write your own narratives for the faces – and the lives behind them – of the people in these wonderful snapshots of history.

Such was the desire I was struck with as soon as I chanced upon the photo below. The two women in this seemingly simple photo booth shot are undeniably gorgeous. Their hair, make-up and outfits appeal to me on so many levels. Yet I am equally struck by how happy – content in the moment, perhaps – they both seem. There is a glint of flirtation in the brunette’s dark eyes, a sense of worldly wisdom in those of the blond. Each woman is strikingly attractive on her own, together they are even more majestic.

I wonder, looking at this decades old photo, who were these gals? Were they friends, sisters, cousins, classmates, coworkers? Had they been in each other’s lives for years or only recently meet? Were they taking the photo to remember they day themselves or to pass it along to someone else? Could they have possibly known at the time how wildly stylish they were?


{Vintage photo discovered via Hastingsgraham’s Flickr stream.}

I like to think they were lifelong BFFs. Deeply similar in many ways and starkly opposite in others. Through the good and the bad, the rough and the incredible, they were always there, with perfectly coiffed hair, for each other. Their unwavering bond preserved forever in this moment as photo booth friends.