Spent some time this weekend catching up with the thoughts of some of my favorite bloggers and David Warlick at 2 Cents pointed me to this photo collection found at WebDesigner Depot.
It is another group of 100 historically significant portraits/photographic portraits of individuals who have impacted our world for many reasons over the last several hundred years. Yes, most of them are from the last 100 years or so, simply because of their photographic format, but there are classic portraits of much older, and no less significant, historical characters.
I am not here to debate the whys and wherefores of some people being included and others being left out of the collection. Just look at it for who is there and the shear beauty of many of the visuals themselves. As for uses in the classroom and library-related projects...please, there are SO many!
Now, the nagging question is, can these be used for educational purposes? I think you will agree with me that many of them are available from other copyright friendly locations (some are in the LC collection and some are found in the recently uploaded Life/Google collection) so I am assuming this one is as well.
What is the significance of the 4 photos I have chosen to included here, you ask?
Anne Frank -- I have been haunted by her eyes ever since I read the book at about the age of 12 (and many times since then). I have NEVER been able to put myself in any situation, real or imaginary that I assume she encountered. I C-A-N-N-O-T imagine, pretend, or even dream...
Migrant Mother -- this picture simply represents what the Dust Bowl/Depression looks like to me....and after becoming a mother almost 30 years ago, I have learned to "see" other things in her face as well.
Afghan girl -- I remember when she came out on the cover of the National Geographic magazine back in the mid-80s. I remember holding onto that copy for a long time and returning to look at it many times...not knowing that the true significance of the photo was not her green eyes (which really was the focus of the story), but the fact that she represented so much in a region of the world that captured our attention so completely a few years later. I followed the story also when the photographer/reporter went back to find her and see what fate had dealt her. I can't help it...as trite as it sounds...she is hauntingly beautiful on many levels.
And the final photo--Buzz Aldrin on the moon reflecting back a smaller image of his partner (and photographer) Neil Armstrong...a pinpoint of time frozen in my mind...the Apollo 11 moon shot is a HUGE marker on my personal timeline....I can close my eyes and remember vividly historical details of those few scary, and yet, exciting days...both inside and outside my own house!
Ok, enough nostalgia for now...go hunt up some of your own.
1 comment:
I personally would have a problem using any of these photographs from that web site in an educational setting, because so many of the photos are undated and unattributed - better to do as you did and try to track down another source where more research has been done on the photo's sources, and copyright status is more clear.
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