Shorpy calls itself “the 100-year-old photo blog.” I’m pretty sure there were no bloggers 100 years ago, but there was definitely photography, and a lot of it is featured in galleries on this blog. When I’m stuck in a photography rut or feeling uninspired by my subject matter at the moment, I peruse Shorpy and that usually does the trick. Shorpy is just rife with ideas and inspiration. The site features galleries about all sorts of things, including cities, factories, kids, mining, pretty girls (love this category!), railroads, rural America, and sports. There’s even a members’ gallery, where people can display their own work.
Speaking of old photography, I recently stumbled upon an online gallery of Victorian post-mortem photography.
Not sure how many of you are familiar with this: After people died in the 19th and early-20th century, it wasn’t uncommon for people to have photographs snapped of their loved ones. Well, back then, I suppose photography wasn’t so “snappy” in general. It did, however, go a lot more quickly than painting. Apparently, because photographs taken after death were much cheaper and quicker than portrait-painting, many families who could not afford to have their portraits painted had these post-mortem pictures taken instead. The subjects were posed as though they were asleep or upright, as though living. I guess it didn’t seem so morbid back then, since people died a lot younger and more frequently than they do now. There were a lot more things to die from. Now that I think about it, there is a kind of tranquil, peaceful look about these. Doesn’t it seem strange, though, that there are sometimes living children posed with their dead brothers and sisters? I would feel troubled.
