Lost Gallery: Colorado

Have you ever been here?

Have you ever noticed that tourists take pictures of the same spot, over and over?

Here for instance are three photographs of Balancing Rock near Colorado Springs, Colorado. They are from three different estate sales and unrelated in any other way except they are black and white photographs. They are taken from almost identical camera angles.

It's probably because the spot is an easy one to access, to get the family in the picture and the light is right for the time of day.

There are photographs of this rock from many angles, but this one is repeated often.

This is called Balancing Rock. It's a popular tourist shot with or without the guy holding it up.

This one at the left looks similar, but it is probably shot from the opposite direction.

Another popular tourist snap is the sign at state borders. Texas is seen often.

Umbrella Rock in Tennessee is another popular tourist destination. There are many photographs from the early days of photography, cabinet cards and real photo post cards taken by a professional photographer at the site. The photographs show the formation almost always from the same angle.

There are even post cards from that era showing the scene. The rock is fenced off now as being too dangerous.

Here are two different tourist snapshots of the same place.

Palace Ruins

but I don't know where.

This looks like the "Aztec Ruins" in western New Mexico but that is just a guess.

It is a misnomer of course. The Native American settlement is not connected with the Aztec tribe of Mexico at all.

Watch this space. There's more to come.

The most popular photographs An album of the most requested photographs in the Lost Gallery.

Area 51 and a Half You are probably not authorized to see these.

Don't take my picture! Oh! You DID didn't you! This is a collection of photographs that disappear on the way home from the photo processing shop.

And don't miss
Cabinet Card Gallery
One Man's Treasure
Penny Tales
Square America
Tattered and Lost
Vernacular Photography
The best
FOUND PHOTOGRAPH
sites on the web.
And for postcards try
THE DAILY POSTCARD.

THE KIDS It is always a mystery how a photograph of any of these precious children could end up lost or abandoned. Here are a few. You will probably say "Ooh..." at least once.