vernacular photography

i have a collection of snapshots of people with whom i have no connection.
it sounds silly, but when i go to garage sales, or flea markets, i look for photographs that other people have discarded.  i am often surprised that these photos could have been taken from my own family's albums.  there are photos of all of the important moments in our lives...babies, holidays, graduations, family gatherings, and always, it seems, someone posed beside an automobile.
except for the fact that these people are strangers, i could have taken, or been in those photos. in some ways, vernacular  photography is more interesting than fine art photography because there is little or no information about the subjects, locations, or time and place of events, thus allowing the viewer to use his/her imagination. it makes them mysterious and thought-provoking.

from Wikipedia, a definition of anonymous photography:
Vernacular photography or amateur photography refers to the creation of photographs by amateur or unknown photographers who take everyday life and common things as subjects. Examples of vernacular photographs include travel and vacation photos, family snapshots, photos of friends, class portraits, identification photographs, and photo-booth images. Vernacular photographs are types of accidental art, in that they often are unintentionally artistic.

Closely related to vernacular photography is "found photography," which in one sense refers to the recovery of a lost, unclaimed, or discarded vernacular photograph or snapshot. Found photos are often found at flea markets, thrift and secondhand stores, yard sales, estate and tag sales, in dumpsters and trash cans, between the pages of books, or on streets and sidewalks.

Diane Arbus and Lisette Model were collectors of snapshots.  Model is quoted as saying, "I'm a passionate lover  of the snapshot because of all photographic images it comes closest to the truth.  The snapshot is a specific spiritual moment."

from the reading list,
Anonymous by Robert Flynn Johnson, published by Thames & Hudson, 2004
Snapshots:  The Eye of the Century by Christian Skrein, published by Erschienem Im Germany, 2004
Photobooth, by Babette Hiens, published by Princeton Architectural Press, 2002


I would love to hear your stories!