Found Photographs

Apparently somebody had a shortage of paper for over the nice printed back there's writing in brown, purple and black pen, calculations and pencil markings, over which is strewn that blue map-like scribble. Also a date for 1904.

lovely boots St. Petersburg, 1904

Found in Saint Petersburg I bought a pile of these photos from a grey-haired lady who had a lot of different photos and items spread on a blanket in the muddy ground of the marketplace/fleamarket. My ten-word Russian vocabulary combined with my nervousness and a lack of writing equipment resulted in a lot of swinging of arms and hands and shaking of the heads when we negotiated the price - or she tried to communicate it to me. I suppose she came to take my stupidity as bargaining and in the end refused most of the money I handed to her, laughed at me and (I think so) wished a good day as I thanked and apologized in some muddle of english-finnish-russian-sign language-mostly-gibberish. There's a certain freedom in travelling to places where you can't speak the language. It sort of renders you invisible, like you were watching a film. St. Peter as a city has various other qualities that contribute to the impression, with it's endless layers of time all seeming to exist simultaneously so that you sort of keep slipping between them.

Found in Udelnaya, Saint Petersburg Somebody has tried to burn this, but halted in the midway. It gives me the eerie feeling that the other soldier is a ghost with a broken heart.

Note all aspiring photographers: backlight can turn even an activity this idyllic into creepy-as-hell scene. "Pentti and Pekka on the shore of the Humppila pond"

Stone-man, wtf are you doin'? We're peacefully taking a photo here and you're picketin' like it's 1918. Or is it a giant potato you're waving, jealous of our shining dapper sleeves, arn't ya?

"15th of February 1925" Back inscription: "15th of February 1925 in Tahmela!" (A quarter in a City of Tampere, Finland.) This photo was likely been taken to demonstrate the unusually warm winter of 1924-25. Jouni Keskinen tells in his article ( www.uta.fi/yky/arkisto/koskivoimaa/kaupunki/1918-40/leuto.htm ) how the lack of snow caused various problems - people used to getting around by skis, sledges and carriages, couldn't perform their regular logging and woodworking in wet forests, which caused major unemployment. Dozens of people were drowned in the lakes which normally would've been frozen solid. Driving manure into the fields was also very difficult, so cattle-keepers were in a literally shitty situation. That winter held a record as the warmest of the century for 80 years, being topped only by the winter 2007-8. These gentlemen look pleased though to be able to flaunt their watch-chains in midwinter. I cropped a detail of the intriguing mystery man in the background: www.ipernity.com/doc/anaryawe/16607729

found in Tampere No dates or stamps on this one. A beautiful wrist though.