Side Tracked- Who took the photo?

 Looking at old photos reminded me of a preoccupation I had as a child . The who-took-the-picture-question fascinated me . I considered who was in the each photograph and who was absent , assuming the missing face to be the photographer .

When there was more than one person absent , I would question further until each person who belonged to the group was accounted for in my mind . It was important to me . I couldn't tell you why...
Perhaps it was concern to keep the group together ...a security issue . Or was it that someone in the family was off on greater adventures than sitting for a family photo ?...a fantasy issue . Maybe he/she had gone somewhere and didn't want me along ?...a jealousy fantasy issue stemming from insecurity .

 My mind wasn't thinking that way at that time . I just was . And sometimes , someone with a camera snapped a photo .

I did notice in the last while , patterns that emerged only when I considered the whole photograph collection , like a social archeologist .

The BK Era ( Before Kids )1945-1947
   There were several photos of Mum and Dad together taken everywhere else but home...so-oo... I concluded that others took the pictures and gave them copies/originals/negatives ; they didn't have a camera then . The negatives are all sizes indicating that many cameras were used .

The WK Era ( With Kids )1947+: W1K Period 1947-1950
  There is one photo of Sis in the first year . It was taken away from home. Still no family camera. Photos of Sis appeared in large numbers at McKerrow .( 1948/9) . She was the same age in all photos; they were taken in the same location at different times ; Mum was the photographer except for two photos ( Dad  took the picture .); the negatives/photos are all the same size indicating that they now owned a box camera ; the number of photos didn't exceed one film so they could not afford more or were not near a location to get them developed .All are outside photos ...no flash / save on flashbulbs .

W2K Period 1950-1954
 There are two photos of me in my first year : one at home in Larchwood using the same box camera ; and the other was taken by a professional photographer of Sis and I . This was not repeated because of the expense . All photos from that point were home done ;they were now mostly group shots taken on special occasions ; they were taken on the box camera ; they were developed in the same month although taken at different times , all outside , indicating careful consumption of film and bulbs - not free spirited snapping ? Many photos /negatives came from other cameras .

W3K Period 1954+
 There are two photos of my brother in his first year , both taken with the same camera some months apart . There are a few photos of the girls in group shots with visitors using that same camera with Mum as photographer .Several pics came from others . All photos are well spaced in time . Conclusions: Mum is busier ; Dad is working ; money is tight ; the camera is starting to show it's age and quality ; Mum is disappearing from the photos .

These patterns begged me to consider what photos will be left behind after I am gone . Upon examination of my collection , I saw the good times , the hard times , very few photos from others , children galore , my husband and some friends . And my 'visage' is absent for most of the collection .

 Conclusion : I really have to get / let others take photos .



By the way... Clusters of photos were taken at every 'new' section house our family moved into until the novelty wore off and life settled into the routine .


How is your collection looking ? Do you see patterns developing ?