#1 An Indian Woman, A Japanese Woman, And A Syrian Woman, All Training To Be Doctors At Women’s Medical College Of Philadelphia
"I think photography can be an essential and powerful tool for understanding history, but I think it is also necessary to view all photographs with a critical eye," professor, writer, and amateur homesteader Joshua Wilkey told Bored Panda, commenting on one of our earlier publications.
"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 A Group Of Five Trans Women In Paris, 1959 - Miriam, Nana, Jacky, Gine And Sabrina. Photo By Christer Strömholm
Dr. Darren R. Reid, who earned his Ph.D. from the University of Dundee and is now a lecturer at Coventry University, agrees.
He explained to us that images are an incredibly important part of how we understand the past. "They give us a distinct look into how people and societies viewed themselves and each other," Reid said.
#6 A Veterinarian, Inspecting An Early Prototype Of The Internet In The 1950's
#9 View Of The Pyramids During A Solar Eclipse, August 30, 1905. Photo: Gabriel Lekegian
"In the medieval period, for example, Jesus and the saints were often depicted as physically larger than ordinary people — not because they were believed to be taller, but because they occupied a higher status in the minds of the artists who produced these images, and the audiences who consumed them. In later centuries, Europeans (and their descendants) looked to the classical world for inspiration, spending huge amounts of time (and money) on images that were both increasingly realistic and idealized," Reid said.
#11 Norman Parkinson Photograph Of Two People Running Up A Street In New York City In 1960
#12 A Secret Love: To Buzz, L'il Always Remember The Times We Spent Together. All My Love, Your Tommy 26 March 1949
"Native Americans and American colonizers were frequently depicted in classical poses — all deliberate choices that show us how many people perceived the invasion of the Americas and the genocides that occurred there," Reid continued.
"They also include important details (such as items of clothing, hairstyles, etc.) that help us to picture the past. For modern people, this means we can more accurately imagine, and perhaps, empathize with the very different folks who came before us."
#17 Newlyweds Ride A Train Headed To Tokyo, Japan, 1964. Photo By Bill Ray
Talking about photographs, in particular, Joshua Wilkey provided a few very helpful questions we can ask ourselves when analyzing them:
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. Some pictures are downright strange without context."
#20 A Gay Couple And A Lesbian Couple Outside The Bank, Idaho, United States, 1941. Photo By Russell Lee
