The Orphaned Images Project: The Altizer family

The caption on the back of this photo reads, “The Altizer family, including Shep.” I can assume this branch of the Altizer family was from Virginia (since the photos were sold by a seller in Virginia). I did a quick search in Google for the family name and came up with lots of information, including a comprehensive genealogy website prepared by Jay Altizer. Perhaps Jay might know what generation of Altizers this family is! Click here to learn more about the Altizer family.

The Orphaned Images Project: Giant teacher, little desk

This photo was one of more than 600 b&w prints I purchased on eBay from a seller in Virginia. Many of the photos from this collection have captions (thought this one does not) and most are dated from the 30s to the 40s. To learn more about The Orphaned Images Project, click here and to see more orphaned images, click here.

The Orphaned Images Project: Family portrait

Several observations came to my mind when I saw this photo:

1) My first thought was of one of the Damien: Omen movies. Remember when Jennings, the photographer, begins noticing that in his photographs there are things that foretell the deaths of the nanny and the priest (such as a line crossing through their back or head)? The photographer’s death is also foretold in his photograph. The first thing I noticed in this photo was the “dagger” headed toward the head of the woman second from left. Ominous!

2) The woman in the center—talk about a wasp waist! And her head appears to be a apparition—not quite all there because of the film’s exposure.

3) Someone has sketched in an outline of the man’s sleeve with pencil. Now there’s retouching in its most primitive form. Hey, we photographers try to work with what we’ve got!