Talking to Bored Panda about historical pictures, professor, writer, and amateur homesteader Joshua Wilkey said "I think photography can be an essential and powerful tool for understanding history, but I [also] think it is also necessary to view all photographs with a critical eye."
"While we might be accustomed to skepticism of photos in the age of Photoshop, photo editing isn't the only thing that should give us pause."
#3 1967 || 2019 Same Bike , Same Couple , 52 Years Later . Image Source : Zhangzhesheng
#5 These Progressive High School Girls Learn The Finer Points Of Auto Mechanics In 1927
The historian provided a few very helpful questions we can ask ourselves when analyzing such images. The first one: is the photo lacking context? Or what is happening outside of the frame?
"There's always the chance that the viewer is seeing an intentionally skewed perspective," Wilkey highlighted. "A picture might be worth a thousand words, but sometimes it takes a thousand words to explain the context of a single photo.
As avid Bored Panda readers probably know, pictures can be very strange without context.
#6 Mailman N. Sorenson Poses With His Heavy Load Of Christmas Mail And Parcels, Chicago, 1929
#7 Animals Being Used As Part Of Medical Therapy , 1956 🤍 Three-Year-Old Peggy Kennedy Enjoyed These Ducklings Paddling Around In A Tub. Peggy, A Polio Patient, Wore A Plastic Chest Respirator
#8 Two Women Showing Uncovered Legs In The Public Place For The First Time, Toronto, 1937
#9 In The 1800s , Pit Bulls Were Often Called "Nanny Dogs" Because Of The Protective Behavior They Exhibit Around Children
The second question: is the photo representative? In other words, can the photo indicate something bigger than itself?
"For example, the internet has, for years, made fun of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un for marveling at seemingly cool but likely fake things like modern and well-stocked grocery stores," Wilkey added. "These photos are meant to be representative images portraying for Kim's people and for foreigners that North Korea is a modern and well-nourished society. [But] the reality is a bit different."
#10 To Win A Bet In 1956 , Thomas Fitzpatrick Stole A Small Plane From New Jersey And Landed It Perfectly On A Narrow Manhattan Street While Drunk, In Front Of The Bar He Had Been Drinking At. Two Years Later, He Did It Again After A Man Didn't Believe He Had Done It The First Time
#11 An Open Air School In 1957, Netherlands
#12 Berlin 1960s. Residents Of West Berlin Show Their Children To Their Grandparents Living In East Berlin , 1961
#13 Two Members Of The Bertram Mills Circus Walk Head-To-Head At Hammersmith Broadway In London 1953
While these concepts can apply to virtually any photograph, they become vital when we're viewing one as evidence.
"They are important for historical photographs because of the power and usefulness of photography in political propaganda."
North Korea is a great example of a regime that uses photography for propaganda, but Wilkey said that the Soviet Union and the US were well versed in the subject too, particularly during the Cold War and the Space Race.
#14 Not Something Seen Every Day This Must Be "Take Your Donkey To Work Day " Amusing Life Magazine Back Page Photo!
#15 A Young Man Demonstrating Against Low Pay For Teachers, Ca. 1930. “I Left School To Earn $21 A Week. My Teacher’s Pay Is $17.78 A Week.” Photographer Paul Thompson
#16 A Drunken Man Placed In A Basket And Carried Away, Istanbul, 1960s
#17 An Ostrich Carriage Being Stopped By The Police For Crossing Speed Limit . Los Angeles Around 1930
"Another good example of government using photography to achieve a political end was the Farm Service Administration's use of photography to document the impact of the Great Depression as a means of garnering support for the New Deal," Wilkey then said.
"Roosevelt's opponents argued it was political propaganda, while his proponents argued it was an accurate depiction of what was happening. Ultimately, most scholars have concluded that, while it accomplished political ends, it was indeed an accurate portrayal of reality."
#18 Here's A Camouflaged Road In Finland During Ww2 , The Trees Were Hung Up With Rope So The Russians Couldn't See The Road ( 1941 )
#19 Abandoned Baby Sleeping In Desk Drawer At Los Angeles Police Station , ( 1971 ) Policewoman Pat Johnson , 28, Tends A Baby Girl , About 9 Months Old, Who Was Found Alone And Crying In A Downtown Hotel Room In Los Angeles , California
The photo of the sleeping baby was taken by Times staff photographer Cal Montney on July 8, 1971.
In 2006 , the Safely Surrendered Baby Law took effect in California.
