mis-taken

i collect old photographs, of various sorts. i have a few tintypes, and a single precious daguerreotype. i have early paper prints, i have copper negative plates for newspapers, i have stereoscopic prints. i have reproductions of old photographs and photographs of dead babies. but as much as i love the very old photographs, i have a special fondness for prints from the 40s and 50s - the era of the increasing popularity of the personal camera. there is a very specific reason for this fondness - namely, i like it when i can find photographs that are taken by obvious amateurs. there is a special something in camera mistakes: over-exposures, under-exposures, overly slow shutter speeds. they make me smile, and they feel so very human. the early photographs are all taken by obvious professionals, and the limitations of the early cameras prevented the spontaneity of their later personal use.
anyhow, before i continue to ramble, i present to you my most recent photographic purchases - all found for fifty cents apiece in a junk shop in Pueblo, Colorado.