When we look at old photographs — whether or not we know the person behind the lens or subject(s) in front of it — we try to discern and decide what was going on in that captured moment. We will examine the image and try to guess what was happening as the shutter release was pressed. We look for clues and try to guess when and where the photo was taken.

We may also wonder about the photographer’s relationship with the subject(s) and whether they knew they were being photographed. If, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, perhaps that’s roughly equivalent to a couple hundred questions we might ask ourselves while looking at one…

Looking at a Photo, We Wonder:

Was it partially posed or completely candid? Was there a lighting or camera malfunction, light leak, user error, or accidental double-exposure? Has the film negative or photographic print aged, faded, lost contrast, or color-shifted over time? If so, why — was it tucked away among many others in a hot attic, left alone in a grease and sawdust-covered box on a garage shelf, or forgotten in a damp, musty darkroom with the photographer’s equipment and ephemera when they shuffled off their mortal coil?

Of course, there may be clear, obvious, indisputable elements of a photograph, which can only be interpreted ONE way which all (or most) viewers would agree upon. But beyond the obvious, viewing a photograph (or any form of art) is a subjective, speculative, interpretive, thought-provoking, and emotional event. It is an event filtered through each viewer’s life experiences, understandings, biases, leanings, philosophies, perceptions, and perspectives.

Therefore, each viewer of a photograph may see, feel, and imagine something unique and personal about an image, which may or may not resemble the truth about what was going on when the shutter snapped to capture the moment!

All of this is equally true for photographs which might be “art” and those that are run-of-the-mill, everyday, generic, mundane, ill-composed, badly-lit, or just plain boring snapshots. Inevitably, when we gaze at any photograph — especially of unknown origin, time, place — our minds wander into wondering and we always end up asking the BIG question:

WWTT = What Were They Thinking?

And when a photo’s subject(s) and/or scenario are sufficiently odd, bizarre, astonishing, provocative, rude, nude, depicting questionable motives and/or behavior in front of and/or behind the lens, we add the letters WTF to the end of WWTT, which gives us:

WWTT+WTF???

When we prowl the auctions, estate, yard, garage, and tag sales to buy cameras, kits, and photographic ephemera, we are always delighted when we find undeveloped, unseen film, forgotten photographs, and other one-of-a-kind (“OOAK”) items.

Over time, we’ve spent significant time and money collecting other people’s photos (“OPP”), with a special focus on one-of-a-kind (“OOAK”) Polaroids from the 1950’s > 1990’s. We post selected items from the collection to our OPP Instagram feed along with any background info we have about them.

So, in the spirit of WWTT+WTF, this page is all about the found film, prints, instant photos, and other people’s photos from our collection — enjoy!

Please email opp@texolux.com if you’ve got any found film, negatives, photos, or vintage OOAK Polaroids you’d like to share!

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