pretty serendipities

   Those of you who like to rummage through online image archives of various kinds might enjoy leafing through the following sites, links to which I have assembled over the past couple of years.

The collection of Japanese photography of the Bakumatsu-Meiji Period (1860-1899) at Nagasaki University Library is very extensive in scope, featuring photos of rural life, home interiors, teahouses, temples, gardens, and beyond. Search by location and keyword is enabled. The latter boasts a peculiar collection of variables -- among the 100 or so choices, you will discover that you can search the Bakumatsu-Meiji photo archive for pictures of "fishing", "Mt. Fuji" and "historic sites" as well as for depictions of "Japanese junk" (74 results), "utility pole" (4 results) and "straw boots" (0 results).


The Photography from Central Asia exhibit, housed online by Santa Fe's Anahita Gallery, is modest in size by comparison but very spirited. Included here is a fine group of images by Georgi Zelma, an Uzbekistan-born photographer known, among other things, for his documentary photo work in WWII, namely during the battle of Stalingrad.


More images by Zelma and his contemporaries, Khaldei, Alpert, and others, can be found at the Russian Photography Collection presented by Howard Schickler Fine Art, a Brooklyn based gallery specializing in Soviet/Russian photography and Russian avant-garde art.

Foto Tapeta is an enormous resource put together by a gallery in Warsaw that features works by primarily Polish photographers as well as interviews and reviews, some of which are translated into English. Click around at your leisure and sample artists like Anna Beata Bohdziewicz, Bogdan Dziworski, and Basia Sokolowska.


Czech and Slovak staged photographs -- precisely what the title of the compilation says; nothing like what you would expect.

The Netherlands Photo Archives - still a work in progress, as far as (in)completeness of many photographers' profiles is concerned, but already fairly rewarding if you are willing to spend some time poking around here.


Middle East Photograph Archive at the library of the University of Chicago contains more than 200 images of Egypt, Turkey, Syria and other places in the Middle East, captured in late 19th century. Landscapes, city scenes, portraits and architectural shots from Cairo, Giza, Damascus, Istanbul, and surroundings abound.

Chances are you already know of the online photography collections at Rochester's George Eastman House. And while you are in the area, check out the archives of student work at RIT's School of Photographic Arts & Sciences and the school's Photo Purchase Prize Collection.

Know of other noteworthy photography collections online? Share the wealth, won't you?