Staring out into the abyss

I bought this tin type just outside of Owen Sound, Ontario at the Rockford Flea Market. This beautiful lady was in a mixed lot with about 5 other portraits. During the portrait she had to sit still and not move as the exposures for these early images was long (30 seconds to 2 minutes). There would only have been one picture made and it would be given to someone the sitter loved as a very special gift. Portrait photographers would roll into town and set up temporary photography studios where  people would go to get their pictures taken. It would have been an expensive and exciting thing to do as often it would be the FIRST time the sitters would see themselves captured in a photograph!

It was estimated that in 2014 over 1,000,000 selfies were being posted worldwide each hour with that equaling an astounding 24,000,000 selfies per day (I get the feeling these statistics are low). Uploaded, shared, tweeted, favorited & commented on.

Something has gone awry. Intimacy has been lost and ironically the preciousness of the individual seems forsaken.

The Ghost of Ourselves dwelling in the shadows, shining out of mobile devices and into the great abyss of the digital world.