Flickr Commons Wandering

Posted on by Tom Woodward

I’m working on a presentation and have been putting all sorts of words in the wonder machine that is the Flickr Commons. I’ve found not only great pictures but case after case of useful comments and associative trails that lead to more interesting things.

If you’d like to do the same you can go to the search page but in the end I just would just change the word “YOU” in this URL string to whatever I wanted to search for https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=YOU&is_commons=true&sort=relevance but now on to some examples.

N. [i.e. G.] Cochon (LOC)
This is not Father Guido Sarducci but French Anarchist Georges Cochon. The comments straightened out his name despite the fact that the picture was mislabeled.

William Jones
Aliases, violin, robberies, a straight razor, a fall to his death – it’s like a movie.Another beautiful example of the comments holding as much value as the image. Go there and read them.

February 20, 1933
More solid commenting and I love the guy in the window.

John Thomas Hollings
Both the mirror and the “access by bodily pressure” made this one stand out.

Joseph Steinmetz doing an egg balancing trick

The U.S. Marines salute the U.S. Coast Guard after the fury of battle had subsided and the Japanese on Guam had been defeated. "They (the Coast Guard) Put Us Here and We Intend to Stay" is the way the Marines felt about it., ca. 08/1944.
Mocking the Coast Guard . . .

Journalist Lucy Morgan with video camera and phone

Andrea Laudano
Early release for good handwriting? This guy looks just like someone famous but I can’t place him.

Compulsory mask, brought in to combat the flu epidemic after the World War, 1918-1919 / Sam Hood
Compulsory mask to combat the flu epidemic – personally decorated.

5 thoughts on “Flickr Commons Wandering”

  1. What fun! I think there should be a professional development course in our school district on this practice: “Finding & Enjoying Flickr Rabbit Holes on Diverse, Disconnected Themes.” 🙂

    Well shared – thanks!

    1. We’re playing with the idea of photo safaris as part of staff dev/outreach (something Abilene Christian has done with success.). I hadn’t thought of making this more than it is but it might be fun to blend the two and maybe add Alan’s recent work as the bridge. Something like make/publish your own, look for others, then delve into the archived past . . . or something like that.

  2. Pingback: Modern Vintage: Tina’s Victorian High Tea | I am Talky Tina

  3. Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday. That guy holding the sign. Uncanny. I commented on it on the wrong thread.

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