With that in mind, this week I have selected 26 photographic images with either deliberate or accidental flaws. Marks, scratches, poor processing, decay, age deterioration, repairs, cracks, tears, rips, and more. Here's to the beauty of imperfect images, and to the beauty to be found in imperfection.
Click on any image to find the source.
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.01_525.jpg)
Total eclipse of moon on cracked glass plate
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.02_525.jpg)
Photo by Miroslav Tichý
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.03_525.jpg)
Mirror-reversed daguerreotype of the moon, attributed to John W. Draper, believed to have been taken March 26, 1840 from his rooftop observatory at New York University.
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.04_525.jpg)
Torn and Marked Photograph of Hands
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.05_525.jpg)
Pieced together photograph of young man
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.06_525.jpg)
Repaired photograph
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.07_525.jpg)
Retouched press photo
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.08_525.jpg)
Badly deteriorated photo of 19th century gentleman
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.09_525.jpg)
Artist unknown, possibly intentional manipulation of old photograph
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.10_525.jpg)
Marked on photograph
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.11_525.jpg)
Natural deterioration of photograph
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.12_525.jpg)
Glass plate photograph of painting in extreme decay
Collection of John Foster
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.13_525.jpg)
Nicely torn image of woman
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.14_525.jpg)
Decayed or damaged negative from The Turconi Collection
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.15_525.jpg)
Decayed or damaged negative from The Turconi Collection
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.16_525.jpg)
Collection of John Foster
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.17_525.jpg)
Haphazardly cut photo for publication
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.18_525.jpg)
Effect of the heat!
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.19_525.jpg)
Deteriorated photograph
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.20_525.jpg)
Oddly deteriorated emulsion
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.21_525.jpg)
Deteriorated glass plate of Missouri bridge
Collection of John Foster
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.22_525.jpg)
Deteriorated glass plate of Missouri riverboat
Collection of John Foster
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.23_525.jpg)
Intentionally damaged photo, collection of © Nick Osborne, The Boat Lullabies
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.24_525.jpg)
Intentionally damaged photo, collection of © Nick Osborne, The Boat Lullabies
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.25_525.jpg)
Deteriorated photo, collection of © Nick Osborne, The Boat Lullabies
![Imperfect Beauty](/media/images/01.26.14.26_525.jpg)
Extremely damaged photo, collection of © Nick Osborne, The Boat Lullabies
Comments [2]
A visual feast, thanks!
01.27.14
02:29
In the work shown here I don't see the glass plate work of Sally Mann or the many photographers using lowfi cameras such as the original Diana 151 camera and the Holga - as well as mention of the revival of processes such as ambrotype, tin type, pinhole, direct positive and wet plate collodion.
One such photographer of note, Mark Silk, moved from shooting with a Diana in the 70s and 80s to wet plate in the 2000s. Social media sites such as Flickr will show an abundance of trained and untrained photographers shooting specifically for the distressed look as depicted in the images in this article.
Of course the concept of imperfect beauty is derivative of the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic.
01.30.14
08:54