The LIFE of a SNOWMAN

I originally posted this snowman saga in 2009, but it fits in nicely with the Sepia Saturday theme this week.

I can't even begin to tell you how lucky I was to find this sequence. The three vintage snapshots were in two different boxes at my favorite antique store. I would have been happy to find just one. To actually have the perseverance to find all three took some lower back pain as I stood there sorting for a couple hours. I'm nothing if not dedicated. I featured these images in my first book, Tattered and Lost: Vernacular Photography.

And here is part two of the Christmas mystery photo that I almost forgot to post.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

Remember PEARL HARBOR

Today is December 7th. That date still means something to a lot of people, but over time it will be forgotten. There are few survivors left. I knew one, but he passed away many years ago.



I still remember a story one of my teachers told of staying home by herself when her family went to church. Alone in the house on a hillside when a bomb suddenly hit in the open field next door. It had been twenty years since the bombs were dropped, but she remembered every detail as if it had just happened.

Say this date to most young people today and it will probably mean nothing. That's the way with youth. For now it's just a date they might have read about in a history class, but it's forgettable. Their December 7th is 9/11 and in time it too will be forgotten.

There is a nice little vernacular photography book out celebrating the service personal who passed through Hawaii during the war years. It has some fun images and does justice to
the category they've chosen. I received a copy as a gift. It's entitled Shore Leave by Ryan Mungia and Jim Heimann.

I'm especially fond of this image because my second memory in life is walking along this sidewalk in Waikiki in the early 50s. My first memory is in our quarters on Midway Island.

And maybe while your'e taking a look at Shore Leave you might peruse one of my Tattered and Lost volumes. 

Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s
.

They've ADDED ONE!

Remember those cards where each year there seemed to be a new kid in the family Christmas shot? And then you got the joy of watching them grow up even though you never actually met them?

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

Time for HOLIDAY PHOTO CARDS!

It's that time of year when the holiday photo cards start arriving from people you might not even remember. Eventually, if you're not really fond of them, the photos end up in the trash or stuck in the bottom of a drawer because you just can't bear tossing such nice people.

The people in this photo are unknown to me. In fact I got this second hand as a very nice gift for my birthday. I'm very easy to buy for.

Click on image to see it larger.

Over the next few weeks I'll be participating in Sepia Saturday by deconstructing a very interesting and unusual Victorian Christmas photo. Each weekend I'll post a portion of this photo rolling it out in pieces like a taunting relative who gives you tiny hints about what they've bought you for Christmas. Shake the box all you want, but you'll not find out what it is until Christmas Eve.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

Another AMERICAN DREAM

Click on image to see it larger.
Another vintage photograph from An American Dream.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.



An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

AN AMERICAN DREAM

Another image from Tattered and Lost: An American Dream. Each photo of a house in the book is shown complete on the recto page. An enlargement of the people in the photo is on the preceding verso.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

TBM's in Flight

The TBM Avenger was a very successful torpedo bomber made by General Motors in World War II. I've heard a lot of grand stories from my dad about his training in this plane. They were daredevils who would have gotten into a lot of trouble if it hadn't been war time. A friend of his dive bombed a farmer off of his tractor out near the Salton Sea. Yeah, daredevils and a little bit stupid at times. They also buzzed a ferris wheel in San Diego. People at the park reported seeing two planes go down in the Pacific. My dad and his buddy in the other plane were sent on a mission to find the downed pilots. Of course, they were looking for themselves, but never told HQ that. Yeah, it takes a certain breed to be a Naval Aviator.

You can read about the TBM Avenger here.

Click on image to see it larger.

I remember when I found out that actor Paul Newman had hoped to be a Naval Aviator, but it didn't happen because he was color-blind. He did however end up as a gunner and radioman in TBM's. I remember looking at my dad and saying, "Oh my how different our lives might have been if Paul Newman had been your radioman/gunner." Alas, he was not in my dad's squadron.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

AN AMERICAN DREAM

For years I've looked at vintage photographs of families standing in front of their homes from long ago. They have always fascinated me. The people are immediately put into the context of their lives. You understand a little bit more about them.

My newest book, Tattered and Lost: An American Dream, is about houses and the people who lived within. From grand houses to one room buildings on a prairie, the people that lived inside are fascinating. The variety of architecture is fascinating.

This book is different from my previous books because each spread is dedicated to one photo only. On the verso page is an enlargement of the people in the photo, the recto shows the full photo.

There are a lot of stories here to be told.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

TBMs Aloft

Click on image to see it larger.
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Introducing the latest edition to the Tattered and Lost series available at Amazon.

Tattered and Lost: An American Dream (Vol. 8)

The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.