We’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes that humankind has made, over and over again, if we don’t have a solid grasp of history. But learning about the past is far more than just skimming through thick, dusty volumes. Seeing a quality photo from a specific event or time period can help you understand the atmosphere in a way that mere words can’t on their own. An image can really be worth a thousand words.
Though historical photos might be (mostly) black and white, we shouldn’t ignore the nuances and shades of grey that we might come across. The past is a very strange place, full of joy, despair, and change for the worse, as well as for the better.
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The ‘Historical Pics’ Twitter page has been sharing powerful and impressive photos from the past in the hope of educating and entertaining social media users around the globe. Today, we’re featuring some of the top photos that the account has posted in their feed. Upvote the ones that really wowed you, Pandas, and let us know how they made you feel.
Meanwhile, scroll down for Bored Panda’s interview about historical photos with professional photographer Dominic Sberna, from the United States.
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The ‘Historical Pics’ social media project has been sharing what it feels are the most iconic photos from the past since joining Twitter in October 2013.
By its own account, it only focuses on “the most magnificent and breathtaking” snapshots from history. Some of these photos might be completely fresh and unseen to you Pandas. Others, however, are so iconic that you’re bound to have laid eyes on them in history textbooks and in news articles.
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Bored Panda got in touch with US photographer Dominic to get his opinion on why some photos become iconic while others might be completely unknown. He also pointed out that black-and-white photography is still very much viable even in 2022, though it takes more effort than just putting a filter on a digital image.
“I think a powerful image makes all the difference and in the same vein, what the subject matter is,” he told us.
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“For example, an image of bar patrons after the repeal of Prohibition in the United States or equally when Prohibition was enacted and federal agents dumped thousands of gallons of beer and distilled spirits. Those images are powerful because they represent a period of history so well.”
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According to photographer Dominic, in this day and age, it all comes down to a photographer’s choice whether to go fully digital or to shoot on film.
“Nowadays, it’s all about personal preference. Film still remains a true art form, whereas digital is quick and easy,” he summarized the difference.
“The quality of digital may or may not have surpassed film, but both are great mediums for different reasons,” he told Bored Panda.
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“Black and white photography can convey a mood. It can also show stark contrasts better, depending on the subject matter. It can remove one’s bias from what they are seeing, especially if that subject being photographed is a person,” photographer Dominic said.
“Black and white photography is an art form in its own right. Many people will take a photo, convert it to black and white, and call it art. It’s simply not that easy. Some photos just truly work better that way, while others not so much. At the end of the day, the decision lies with the artist/photographer.”
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It’s very human to look back at the past with a certain amount of nostalgia. We miss the days when we were happy, content, and loved. Usually (though not always), people yearn for their childhoods.
And though nostalgia has its upsides, you can easily get lost in it, and your quality of life in the present might suffer. It’s essential to find a healthy balance between the two.
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“Nostalgia has the ‘super power’ of helping us feel better about the ‘now’ by connecting us to positive feelings from the ‘then.’ Nostalgia can help us feel better about ourselves and more in control of current situations if we’re able to channel that positivity into concrete actions or a reframed mindset about the present. However, when we begin ‘living in the past,’ we may be inviting into our lives less than optimal mental wellness and potentially compromised physical wellbeing, too,” Suzanne Degges-White, Ph.D., from Northern Illinois University told Bored Panda during an interview a while ago.
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“When we succumb to memories of how things ‘used to be’ and refuse to address the ‘what is,’ we may find ourselves overwhelmed by our current conditions and less able to manage current challenges,” the professor said, earlier.
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“It’s often memories of home and the people who surround us that keeps us able to deal with significantly concerning or dangerous conditions. For instance, letters from home can be a lifeline for those who are engaged in warfare far away from what they consider ‘home,'” she explained.
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Certain historical events tend to attract conspiracy theories. And they’re more common during times of crisis, upheaval, and when people don’t feel safe. The desperate desire for clarity leads to some people more readily accepting conspiracies.
“Over the past 60 years, the assassination of JFK, the death of Princess Diana, and 9/11 are the most obvious examples of national traumas surrounded by conspiracy theory beliefs,” Joseph M. Pierre, a professor of psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told Bored Panda some time ago.
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“People who believe in conspiracy theories are also often attracted to the Manichean narratives that conspiracy theories offer, involving battles of good and evil pitting against each other in an almost apocalyptic fashion. So, it should come as no surprise that conspiracy theories might sprout up from World War II—a real-life apocalyptic battle between good and evil,” he explained.
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Source: boredpanda.com