Lost and Found Photos
September 11, 2015 12:53 PM Subscribe
I just bought a digital camera at a second hand store and found about 20 of what look like prom pictures. Is there a lost and found photo site where I can post them since I have no way of knowing who these people are or how to find them, but don't want to delete their pics?
not an answer, sorry, so may be deleted, but i think i would assume they had copied them off, but not deleted them. in some interfaces deleting is tricky and people don't do it until they run out of space.
(in comparison to a found camera, where it is more likely lost with "pending" pictures still on).
posted by andrewcooke at 12:57 PM on September 11, 2015
(in comparison to a found camera, where it is more likely lost with "pending" pictures still on).
posted by andrewcooke at 12:57 PM on September 11, 2015
I've heard of camerafound.com but never used it. I think it was meant for the "pending" pictures andrewcooke mentions but it would work just as well for these. While it's definitely possible they were just never deleted, I wouldn't assume it. I have pics on my camera I don't have anywhere else, I'm just bad at downloading/backing stuff up
posted by sillysally at 1:45 PM on September 11, 2015
posted by sillysally at 1:45 PM on September 11, 2015
Or maybe it was ifoundyourcamera.blogspot.com. I think that's the one I've seen. Both the same concept though.
posted by sillysally at 2:12 PM on September 11, 2015
posted by sillysally at 2:12 PM on September 11, 2015
Reddit loves this kind of scavenger hunt. Example.
Maybe try there? Not sure which subreddit would be best but the example above was on /r/AskReddit. Or maybe /r/pics?
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:33 PM on September 11, 2015
Maybe try there? Not sure which subreddit would be best but the example above was on /r/AskReddit. Or maybe /r/pics?
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:33 PM on September 11, 2015
As suggested above, this camera may have been lost (or stolen) prior to ending up in the secondhand store, so don't assume the photos have been downloaded. Unless there is something in the photos that dates them as 'old', I would download them first, use the camera as intended second, and then maybe follow some of the suggestions above.
I wouldn't lose too much sleep over these photos, there are probably a lot of photos of these people/this event out there - it's not like the 50's, when every photo was precious. On the other hand, as an intellectual challenge finding them (or the photographer) could be a fun activity.
posted by GeeEmm at 3:29 PM on September 11, 2015
I wouldn't lose too much sleep over these photos, there are probably a lot of photos of these people/this event out there - it's not like the 50's, when every photo was precious. On the other hand, as an intellectual challenge finding them (or the photographer) could be a fun activity.
posted by GeeEmm at 3:29 PM on September 11, 2015
I've seen this sort of thing posted to Facebook.
posted by k8t at 6:49 PM on September 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by k8t at 6:49 PM on September 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
No clues from the store itself?
If you post them pics online, do update us on how it turns out!
posted by pos at 7:39 PM on September 11, 2015
If you post them pics online, do update us on how it turns out!
posted by pos at 7:39 PM on September 11, 2015
A lot of people take pictures with a new camera without a SD/memory/whatever card in it, then run out of built-in/internal memory. When they find that they can't take more pictures, they then go out and get an SD card.
Likely, the original owners have copies of the pictures from on the "internal memory." Also likely is that they never found where the pictures that they first took with the camera were stored and written them off. That the camera found itself in a thrift store, providing that it wasn't stolen, suggests that the images on the camera aren't of particular sentiment for the previous owners or anyone involved in the pictures.
No, as far as I know, there are no "big internet sites" that cater to what you're looking for.
Reddit is likely the most likely place to start, given that they have a diverse and large userbase; you'll have similar lost&found success as with a local newspaper but with the numbers (contributing unto success/failure) multiplied, but without the localization (unless you/your photos are in a very Reddit-rich area).
posted by porpoise at 11:21 PM on September 12, 2015
Likely, the original owners have copies of the pictures from on the "internal memory." Also likely is that they never found where the pictures that they first took with the camera were stored and written them off. That the camera found itself in a thrift store, providing that it wasn't stolen, suggests that the images on the camera aren't of particular sentiment for the previous owners or anyone involved in the pictures.
No, as far as I know, there are no "big internet sites" that cater to what you're looking for.
Reddit is likely the most likely place to start, given that they have a diverse and large userbase; you'll have similar lost&found success as with a local newspaper but with the numbers (contributing unto success/failure) multiplied, but without the localization (unless you/your photos are in a very Reddit-rich area).
posted by porpoise at 11:21 PM on September 12, 2015
A friend suggests www.stolencamerafinder.com, but I know nothing about it myself!
posted by puppygalore at 7:54 AM on September 14, 2015
posted by puppygalore at 7:54 AM on September 14, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Captain_Science at 12:55 PM on September 11, 2015