We, humans, are visual creatures. We might read or listen about the past, but looking at photographs is somehow even more pleasing. Since time traveling is not a thing (and probably will never be), what's a better way to visit the places and times we didn't have a chance to be a part of than through vintage photographs?
Pages like Flashbak give us an opportunity to get a glimpse of life before our time by keeping the spirit of old photography alive. They scour the archives to find the coolest photos of famous people and city life in the 20th century, so, here we present to you the most interesting ones!
Bored Panda reached out to the creator of Flashbak, journalist and editor Paul Sorene, and he kindly agreed to tell us more about the project. Check out the story of how Flashbak came to be and how you can contribute to it below!
More info: Facebook | Flashbak | Instagram | Flashbak Shop
#1 Richard Harrington: Theresie, Three-Year-Old Daughter Of Erkuaktok (Iquugaqtuq), A Pelly Bay (Arvilikjuaq) Inuk, Standing Next To A Snowman Carved By Her Father, 1951
Image credits: Flashbak
Flashbak isn't just a Facebook page that collects cool historical photos. It's a dedicated blog about vintage pop culture with the tagline "Everything old is new again." Its oldest entries date back to 2008, with the first post ever being a very brief history of British television. You can find all kinds of cool stuff relating to 20th century pop culture there: from cool old movie posters to photo studies of rock stars' junk.
It was created by British journalist and editor Paul Sorene, for whom Flashbak is a dear passion project. "My work means being in newsrooms and I realised that millions of pictures stored in newspaper archives and libraries had never been seen," he told Bored Panda. "So Flashbak became a place to share these pictures and the stories behind them."
#2 A Competitor And Her Pet Toad. At The Children’s Pet Shows At Venice Beach, California – 1936
Image credits: Flashbak
#3 Freddie Mercury And One Of His Many Cats
Image credits: Flashbak
"It's all about the story – and every picture tells one," Paul goes on. "So I invite readers to share theirs – and I love it when they do. Some have been exhibited and featured in books, films, TV, posters and more."
"And because demand was so great, I created a shop selling 'all good things.'" And that shop is truly a wonderland for art lovers. If you're looking for some inspiring wall art, postcards, artsy apparel, or are just short on stunning wrapping paper, head over to the Flashbak shop and support the project in the process!
And if you have some cool vintage photos of your own to contribute to Flashbak, don't hesitate to share them right here!
#4 Tina Turner On The Eiffel Tower - 1989 By Peter Lindbergh
Image credits: Flashbak
#5 Ahoo Daryaei, A 30-Year-Old Iranian Doctoral Student In French Literature At Tehran’s Islamic Azad University, Iran., Protesting Agaisnt The Regime's Brutal Anti-Women Laws
Image credits: Flashbak
#6 West Berliners Waving To Relatives Over The Berlin Wall, Christmas Day, 1961 By Leon Herschtritt
Image credits: Flashbak
Nostalgia for the second half of the 20th century doesn't seem to be going away. We love the aesthetics and the feeling that these photographs emulate, so why not try to evoke them in our own photography efforts in the modern day? Film cameras are readily available today to those who wish to dabble in old-school photography.
Photographer Stephen Walton writes that there are three types of cameras people can choose from: 35mm, medium format, and instant cameras. Polaroid and Fujifilm's instant cameras have really grown in popularity these couple of years, as they're pretty easy to operate. You can see the result straight away too, and they give your photos a vintage feel.
#7 “My Really Cool Grandma In The USSR:) Tbilisi, Georgia, 1979” - Tata Tabidze
Image credits: Flashbak
#8 Patrick Swayze Dancing In The 70s
Image credits: Flashbak
#9 In 1974 Serbian-Born Performance Artist Marina Abramovic Told Visitors To Her Show Rhythm 0 (1974) In Studio Morra, Naples, She Wouldn’t Move For Six Hours No Matter What They Did To Her
On a table to her side she placed 72 objects that could be used on her - items included: flowers, a knife and a loaded gun. Her instructions were placed on the table: Instructions: ‘There are 72 objects on the table that one can use on me as desired. Performance. I am the object. During this period I take full responsibility.’ Abramović said that at first visitors were peaceful and shy, but quickly became violent: ′′The experience I learned was that... if you leave the decision to the public, you might be k**led... I felt very violated. They cut my clothes, put rose thorns in my belly, one person pointed the gun at my head, and another pulled the gun out close. This created an aggressive atmosphere. After exactly 6 hours, as planned, I got up and started walking towards the public. Everyone ran away, escaping from a real confrontation.”
Image credits: Flashbak
Then there are 35mm cameras. Walton notes that models like the Canon AE-1 or the Nikon F series are great for beginners and professionals alike. For people who find them too intimidating, there are disposable cameras or film point-and-shoot cameras. With those, you don't have to worry about things like focus and exposure, but can still get the old-school photo vibe.
#10 Amy Irving, Carrie Fisher And Teri Garr At A Thanksgiving Party, 1977
Image credits: Flashbak
#11 Ron Terner : City Island In The Bronx, 1980s
Image credits: Flashbak
#12 Dame Diana Rigg And Dame Helen Mirren In The Grounds At Compton Verney Between Takes Of A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1968 - By David Farrell
Image credits: Flashbak
According to Walton, a lot depends on which decade's style you want to emulate. If you're shooting (no pun intended) for the 1920s or the 1930s, black and white would probably look the most similar. These decades, Walton says, were all about sophistication and glamour, so, they would require soft lighting and shallow depth of field.
#13 Annie Lennox In 1984. Photo By Anton Corbijn
Image credits: Flashbak
#14 Ballet Dancer Rudolf Nureyev’s Legs, 1961. By Richard Avedon
Image credits: Flashbak
#15 Sophia Loren Serving Pasta During The Production Of La Ciociara (Vittorio De Sica 1960) In Saracinesco Lazio Italy
Image credits: Flashbak
If you like the aesthetic of the 1960s and the 1970s, you'll need to focus on vibrant colors. These decades were famous for their psychedelic patterns, so, Walton recommends not being afraid to increase saturation and contrast. Wide-angle lenses and unusual angles also give the photographs a bold aesthetic.
#16 Blondie Playing Whiskey A Gogo In The Early 70s
Image credits: Flashbak
#17 The Piccadilly Line On The London Underground Being Constructed Under The Tram Tracks In 1906
Image credits: Flashbak
#18 A Woman Living Opposite Ironbridge Power Station In Telford, Shropshire, England, Sits To Eat By Candlelight During Power Cuts In 1972 By David Bagnall
Image credits: Flashbak
Some people look at this generation's fascination with film photography with a dash of skepticism. Why go back to grainy, low-quality images when we have the all-powerful digital technology right in our phones? The element of instant gratification might be precisely why we're currently so enamored with film cameras and their aesthetics.
#19 Siouxsie Sioux At The Vortex Club, Wardour Street, London, 1977 By Ray Stevenson
Image credits: Flashbak
#20 Spanish Archaeologist Manuel Esteve Wearing The Corinthian Helmet He Had Found - 1938
Image credits: Flashbak
#21 In The Pub - Gorbals, Glasgow, 1968. (Photo By Jurgen Schadeberg)
Image credits: Flashbak
Lately, there has been a resurgence of digital point-and-shoot cameras. When The Bear actress Ayo Edibiri brought her own digital camera to the Emmys, many took it as a signifier that Gen Z is done with phone cameras. Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian both have been spotted with the tiny point-and-shoots as well. Even manufacturers started noticing it as the film camera market value is predicted to reach $385 million by 2030.
#22 Alice Cooper Putting His Face On In 1973. By Terry O'neill
Image credits: Flashbak
#23 Misty Thames. London. 1931
Image credits: Flashbak
#24 Captain Beefheart And Frank Zappa In The Mojave Desert, California, 1975 - By John Williams
Image credits: Flashbak
However, people have different reasons for choosing to go back to analog photography. According to a survey carried out by Analogue Wonderland's co-founder Paul McKay, 66% of the respondents said they like that it makes them slow down and consider the image, leaving them more connected to the image.
#25 The Fabulous Amy Winehouse In Paris In The 1990s
Image credits: Flashbak
#26 At A Cafe In Paris In 1959 By Saul Leiter (1923 – 2013)
Image credits: Flashbak
#27 Bowie In Berlin - 1977
Image credits: Flashbak
The other 34% had various reasons, and the most common was the wish to create something physical. 'To create unique photos' was the third most popular answer in the survey, especially among young people and those who didn't have much photographing experience. "Film captures memories and emotions, where digital records light values," one respondent noted.
#28 Paul Mccartney Photo Booth, France 1966
Image credits: Flashbak
#29 Bill Brandt : Coal-Miner’s Bath, Chester-Le-Street, Durham, England In 1937
Image credits: Flashbak
#30 The Visit
Image credits: Flashbak
What do you think about vintage photography, Pandas? Which of these photos from Flashbak do you think are the coolest? Let us know in the comments! Also, don't forget to share with us your adventures with analog photography, if you've ever dabbled! And if you'd like to see more interesting historical photographs, you can do so right here.
#31 Sean Young’s Polaroid Self-Portrait With Rutger Hauer, 1981- On The Set Of "Blade Runner" In Los Angeles, California
Image credits: Flashbak
#32 Students At The University Of Michigan In 1950 By Stanley Kubrick
Image credits: Flashbak
#33 Woman With A Crow At The Limelight Cafe, Greenwich Village, New York City By Weegee, C. 1950s
Image credits: Flashbak
#34 Birmingham In 1962. By Peter Donnelly
Image credits: Flashbak
#35 ‘No B***hing Before 6am’ Smithfield, London In 1998 By Sarah Ainslie
Image credits: Flashbak
#36 Carolyn Jones (1930-1983) In A Promotional Still For 1957 Noir Crime Film "Baby Face Nelson" Directed By Don Siegel
Image credits: Flashbak
#37 The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Damned And Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers Before First Night Of The The Anarchy Tour At Leeds Polytechnic On December 6, 1976 - Doors Opened At 8pm; Entrance: £1.50
The concert was historic because it was the first night of the Anarchy In The UK Tour (The Damned were replaced by the Buzzcocks after the Leeds gig).
Image credits: Flashbak
#38 Sinéad O’Connor In 1987 By Anton Corbijn
Image credits: Flashbak
#39 Before Housing The West Lawn Branch Of The Chicago Public Library, 6356 S. Kedzie Was Home To The Midget Club (1948 – 1982)
The bar was run by a husband and wife team – Chicago native Parnell St. Aubin (December 19, 1922 – December 4, 1987) and Mary Ellen Burbach (born September 21, 1920). Both had showbiz pedigree. He’d played a Munchkin soldier in The Wizard of Oz. She was a former Mae West impersonator with the vaudeville troupes Rose’s Parisian Midget Follies. Mary also performed with (and see if you spot a theme): Fred Roper & His Wonderful Midgets, Henry & Dolly Kramer Midget Troupe, and Nate Eagle’s Hollywood Midgets.Was
Image credits: Flashbak
#40 Merry Christmas
Image credits: Flashbak
#41 Bruno Ganz And Peter Falk, Berlin, 1987. By Walter Yablonsky
Image credits: Flashbak
#42 Marlon Brando Photographed By Cecil Beaton For Vogue In 1947
He was 23 at the time and not yet appeared in films.
Image credits: Flashbak
#43 Vivian Maier: Self-Portrait, 1956 Taken In Chicago, Illinois
Image credits: Flashbak
#44 Ricki Lake And Divine On The Set Of John Waters’ Hairspray (1988)
Image credits: Flashbak
#45 The Ronettes Before Opening For The Beatles In Cleveland, Ohio In 1966
Image credits: Flashbak
#46 Boys With A Boombox On 14th Street, NYC, 1983. By Morris Engel
Image credits: Flashbak
#47 Trying To Hear The Whispers Up In London’s St Pauls Cathedral In 1950
The Whispering Gallery was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the renowned architect who was also responsible for the construction of St. Paul’s Cathedral itself. It is located 30 meters above the floor of the cathedral and is accessible via a staircase of 259 steps. The gallery gets its name from the way sound travels along its curved surface, allowing whispers to be heard from one side of the dome to the other
Image credits: Flashbak
#48 H.r. Giger And Debbie Harry With The Harkonnen Chair He Built For Ridley Scott’s Dune Project - 1980
Image credits: Flashbak
#49 Department Store Wax Mannequins Melting During A Heatwave In 1929
Image credits: Flashbak
#50 “The Factory”. Budapest. Hungary. 1955 Photo: Erno Vadas
Image credits: Flashbak
#51 Police Photo From 1952 Salvaged From A Stash Of Lapd Crime Pictures
Image credits: Flashbak
#52 Poodle With Phone Booth, Chicago, Illinois, 1968 By Vivian Maier
Image credits: Flashbak
#53 Woman With Flag By Tina Modotti - Mexico, 1928
Image credits: Flashbak
#54 Wedding, Bratsk, Siberia, USSR, 1967 By Elliott Erwitt
Image credits: Flashbak
#55 Donald Sutherland (Second From Left) With The Puppet Club At Victoria School In Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada In 1948
Image credits: Flashbak
#56 Elton John’s Jeans Photographed By Terry O’neill, Circa 1972
Image credits: Flashbak
#57 The Mazda Mx-81 Aria, 1981 - By Bertone. (The Mx Stood For Mazda Experimental)
Image credits: Flashbak
#58 Basketball Coach Alexander Gomelsky And His Protégé Vladimir Tkachenko, USSR - 1986. (Ht Oldskoolcool)
Image credits: Flashbak
#59 Eminem With His Group Soul Intent In 1991
Image credits: Flashbak
#60 Times Square NYC, 1958 By Allyn Baum
Image credits: Flashbak
#61 Kate Bush Dressed As A Bat, 1978
Image credits: Flashbak
#62 Venetian Gondola By Gianni Berengo Jardin, 1960
Image credits: Flashbak
#63 California, 1957 By Ralph Crane
Image credits: Flashbak
#64 Happy Halloween From Neil Young And His Pumpkin
Image credits: Flashbak
#65 May 16 1984 - Madonna Before She Performed ‘Dress You Up’ And ‘Like A Virgin’ For Keith Haring’s 26th Birthday Party At New York’s Paradise Garage
Image credits: Flashbak
#66 Egg Salad Machine
Image credits: Flashbak
#67 Scold’s Bridle From Armagh Jail - Used To Quieten Inmates. Co Armagh. Early 1900s. National Museums Northern Ireland
#68 Marisol With Her Work Dinner Date - 1963
Image credits: Flashbak
#69 On The Road With Jane Birkin And Serge Gainsbourg In Oxfordshire, England, 1969. By Andrew Birkin
Image credits: Flashbak
#70 Dinner At Andy Warhol’s Factory, NYC In 1985
Seated are: Quentin Crisp, Bianca Jagger, Rupert Everett, Boy George, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring. Photo by Timothy Hursley
Image credits: Flashbak
#71 Children Jumping Onto Mattresses At Ashfield Valley Estate At Rochdale, Lancashire, England In The 1980s - Photographer Unknown
Image credits: Flashbak
#72 Magician And Origami Expert Robert Harbin (12 February 1908 – 12 January 1978) Makes A Sunbather Levitate On The Beach At Eastbourne, East Sussex, England On 12 September 1956
Image credits: Flashbak
#73 Paris, Texas Wim Wenders 1984
Image credits: Flashbak
#74 A Woman With The Word 'Invincible' Embroidered On Her Knickers Welcomes Back HMS Invincible Back From The Falklands Islands On 27 September 1982 - By Colin Davey
Image credits: Flashbak
#75 ‘This Is Not A Pipe’ Marcel Duchamp With Ann Miller’s Leg As A Pipe, Vue Magazine, 1954
Image credits: Flashbak
#76 Eye Clinic In Tainan, Taiwan By Wang Shuang-Chuan - 1962
Image credits: Flashbak
#77 Bob Dylan Lifted By Joan Baez After Party, NYC, 1964
Image credits: Flashbak
#78 Karl Grill: Daisy Spies As The Spiral In The Triadic Ballet From Oskar Schlemmer 1926
Image credits: Flashbak
#79 Julianne Moore (Born : 3.12.1960) “The Audience Doesn’t Come To See You, They Come To See Themselves.”
Image credits: Flashbak
#80 Mary Ellen Mark (1940–2015) Santa Takes A Break, 1964
Image credits: Flashbak
#81 Who’s In?
Image credits: Flashbak
#82 Carroll Boreland In Mark Of The Vampire, 1935
Image credits: Flashbak
#83 Self-Portrait In NYC, 1955 By Vivian Maier
Image credits: Flashbak
#84 Cynthia The Celebrity Mannequin (1932)
Cynthia became a star. She appeared on the cover of Life magazine’s issue of July 12 1937. People sent her gifts and fan mail. Cartier and Tiffany sent her jewellery, French-American milliner Lilly Daché (c. 1892 – 31 December 1989) designed hats for her, couturiers sent her their latest fashions and furrieries sent minks.
Image credits: Flashbak
#85 Béatrice Dalle & Azzedine Alaïa By Jean-Paul Goude, 1998
Image credits: Flashbak
#86 Times Square, New York - February 1978
Image credits: Flashbak
#87 Steve Schapiro : New Jersey, 1963
Image credits: Flashbak
#88 Las Vegas In 1947
Image credits: Flashbak
#89 William Eggelston - Any Time
Image credits: Flashbak
#90 Waking The Dead - Charlie Hewitt, 1949
Image credits: Flashbak
#91 Polaroid Of Candy Darling By Robert Mapplethorpe, 1972
Image credits: Flashbak
#92 Vivian Maier: Self Portrait
Image credits: Flashbak
#93 Caroline Coon Wearing Yamamoto Early 1970s
Image credits: Flashbak
#94 On The New York City Subway In 1968 By Ronnie Ginnever
Image credits: Flashbak
#95 Robert Zimmerman And His Doll Paco’s Pete, Christmas, 1950
“AT CHRISTMAS OF 1950 I scored really big! I not only got an HO gauge Peco Train Set, I also got my ventriloquist dummy that I named “Peco’s Pete”. He and I wore almost-matching flannel shirts. Sadly, or maybe for the better, my ventriloquist act didn’t go over too well: Pete was getting all the laughs, so I decided to break up the team and let him go his own way. The last time I heard from him, Pete was somewhere in Verona, Italy playing a benefit at a retirement home for old ventriloquists.”
Image credits: Flashbak
