A Box of Photos

     I love photography and I am always delighted to pour over and explore photos of many genres: fashion, architectural, pin-up, sports or editorial, they all engage me. Over the years I’ve also developed a passion for looking at old photos that you’d find at flea markets or vintage stores.
     These photos are usually in cigar boxes or shoe boxes. They’re just a random assortment of photos, sometimes stretching across decades from people I’ve never known, usually selling for a quarter or fifty cents a piece. The ones I like best are the ones that seem rather ordinary or unremarkable. Just people hanging out in a very informal setting, though I like some old formal ones too. I bought about 7 or 8 photos of a wedding ceremony that I found at a vintage store for 50 cents each. The photos appear to be from the 1940’s. All the women had Andrew Sister’s hair styles. There was one man decked out in a sailor’s outfit, right out of “On The Town”. This wedding took place in someone’s small apartment with floral wallpaper, not a church. There are a few photos of the best man and maid of honor signing the wedding license at a card table. The man who performed the ceremony was in a suit and not in any religious garb, and the bride did not have a traditional wedding dress. One of the photos was posted onto a blue card, which had written on the back, “West Coast Whlse. Drug Company-Seattle, Washington”. This is probably where they developed the film. This is another thing I like about discovering photos like these; sleuthing.

Bettie Page, Mr. Spock and Photoshop

    

Bettie Page(photo by Bunny Yeager)

    A few weeks ago a friend posted online about how some guy in a mini mart wanted to know if she was wearing a Bettie Page tee-shirt. My friend in fact had been wearing a Mr Spock tee-shirt but she was wearing a jacket that had been zippered halfway up to where you could only see the top part of Spock’s head showing his bangs. After reading her post I thought maybe I could combine these two figures, both known for their bangs, with the joy of Photoshop.

    Since I had plenty of time thanks to Covid, I thought I could do a little Photoshop project. To me, projects like this are like puzzles to be solved. Could I find the elements I needed to bring about a finished composite photo? I scoured the internet for photos of Bettie Page. I wanted a photo that was large enough and one where Bettie’s head was turned to the left or right, highlighting one ear more prominently. I found 4 photos and ended up using 2, thus having 2 projects. The nude photo of Bettie is by Bunny Yeager, the photographer who took some of the most iconic shots of Bettie.

The Filthiest Bathroom

The notorious bathroom of CBGB's

    When this awful outbreak of the Covid-19 first came upon us, which seems like years now, there were a bunch of memes going around. They were photos of a graffiti covered bathroom, such as the one at CBGB’s, with a caption that reads, “If you’ve ever gone to the bathroom at CBGB's(or wherever) you’re immune to the coronavirus.” Yes these bathrooms were certainly disgusting. Hell, I’ve even been to the bathroom at CBGB’s and can attest to its unpleasantness. However, I’m sure at some point every morning or every other morning someone dragged a mop across the floor and threw some disinfectant into the toilet. But these disgusting meme bathrooms in no way compare to what I consider the worst bathroom I ever had to use.