Sepia Saturday 182 : 22 June 2013

I rather like the quirky title for the above image 'Off to the Creamery' which comes from the Powerhouse Rural Life Set on Flickr Commons. If you like to match the theme of our Sepia Saturday prompts, how about: bowler hats, milk churns (or dairies), men (or women) posing on horseback, Australia, farms, or any combination of these. You don't have to theme at all of course and all we ask is that you post your response to the prompt for SS182 on or around Saturday 22nd June. Please link back to this Sepia Saturday page or add the mini-banner if your prefer. After you've published your own post don't forget to add the URL of the actual post into Mr Linky and then leave a comment below. Then you can enjoy visiting other Sepians and seeing what they've made of the prompt.

Before you gallop off to the milking parlour, take a look at the prompts I've chosen for the next two Sepia Saturdays. Some people like the advance warning so that they keep an eye out in antique shops and fairs. Or it may be that the image reminds you that you've something along those lines in a shoebox somewhere. Happy foraging!

Marilyn (Little Nell)

183: This 'Entrance to Wombeyan Caves'  in New South Wales could take you into grottoes, caverns, potholes or mines of information. Or it could you leave you completely in the dark - so bring a torch!

184: July 6th 1885 was when Louis Pasteur successfully treated a boy with a rabies vaccine. This plaque in Arbois is one side of a pillar dedicated to Pasteur and his achievements. I expect to see commemorative plaques aplenty, group portraits, or even mad dogs!

Sepia Saturday 181: 15 June 2013

A few words from Marilyn Brindley (aka Little Nell): Whilst Alan is away I'm stepping in as admin and I hope you all enjoy the prompts I've chosen for the next few weeks. The value of our Sepia Saturday Facebook group page was never more apparent than a few weeks ago when Mrs Marvel, of Who Were They, posted this link for we ‘Sepians’ to enjoy. The wonderful pictures there of chatelaines made me think about our theme for this week. We haven't actually had bodily adornments of any kind as a prompt before, so this rather lovely image, 'Portrait of a woman with elaborate cameo jewelry and off the shoulder dress'  from SMU Central University Libraries vis Flickr Commons is the one I've chosen. It's from around 1850 but nothing is known about the creator or sitter. I'm sure the photo sleuths amongst us would be able to tell us more but I'm not much of a detective myself.

All that we ask for now is that you post your own response to Number 181 on or around Saturday June 15th. It's time to open your jewellery case and dig out some sparkling images. We're looking for any bodily adornments: from girls with pearl earrings to gents with an impressive medal collection (or vice versa), even tattoos would fit the bill I'm sure. Don't forget to link back to this Sepia Saturday page or add the mini-banner at the bottom of this post if you prefer.When you've posted on your own blog, add the link to the specific page here on Mr Linky, leave a comment too please,  and then try to visit as many other Sepians as you can.

Now, before you become completely dazzled by the 'bling' take a peek at the next two week's prompts.

182:  It's 'Off To The Creamery'  this week c1900. The possibilities are endless: bowler hats, milk churns (or dairies) men (or women) posing on horseback, Australia, farms or any combination of these.

183: This 'Entrance to Wombeyan Caves'  in New South Wales could take you into grottoes, caverns, or mines of information. Or it could you leave you completely in the dark - so bring a torch!

Sepia Saturday 180 : 8 June 2013

What is life?, I ask myself. In life you are born, you move about, you eat, and you die. And if you want a perfect visual representation of this thing we call life, where better to look than the archives of the Bain News Service brought to us by The Library of Congress and Flickr Commons. This particular image shows the kitchen of the hospital train of Kaiserin Augusta Victoria and dates from the early years of the First World War. Somewhere, behind the emulsion of the glass negative, there is a monochromatic contrast between the organised sterility of the bright kitchens and the mud and the blood and the misery there must have been outside, but such senseless contrasts are equally part of the equation that we call life. Whatever particular philosophical branch line you care to explore, there is plenty of potential prompts for Sepia Saturday 180. All we ask is that you post your post on or around Saturday 8 June 2013 and add a link to the list below.

And in case you want to see what is around the next bend in the track of life, here is a preview of the next two Sepia Saturday prompts.

181 : Time to open your jewellery case and dig out some sparkling images. We're looking for any bodily adornments: from girls with pearl earrings to gents with an impressive medal collection (or vice versa!).

182 :  It's 'Off To The Creamery'  this week c1900. The possibilities are endless: bowler hats, milk churns (or dairies) men (or women) posing on horseback, Australia, farms or any combination of these.

One of the great things about Sepia Saturday is that our collective challenges can shift from dressing table to dressing station, from earrings to yearlings : they are all part of our sepia life.

Sepia Saturday 179 : 1 June 2013

When I first chose the theme image for Sepia Saturday 179, I thought to myself, "we've  never had birds, beasts and reptiles" before; but of course I was wrong. A quick check of the list kept by Marilyn and available on the Sepia Saturday Facebook page, and I discover that we've had tortoises (164), elephants (133), cats (130), cattle (127), dogs (111), rabbits (71) and even a camel (70)! If you have completely run out of animals, you might like to follow the caravans, or climb up the steps, or even hide in the wooden barrel. Whatever potential theme you highlight from our archive image (which comes from the Tyne and Wear Archives and Museum Collection on Flickr Commons), all you need to do is to post your post on or around Saturday 1st June 2013 and then add a link to the list below.

But before you fly away to do that (or, if you are a reptile, slither away and do that), you might like to take a look at the theme images that are just around the corner.

180 : Our picture features a hospital kitchen on a railway train, thus providing Sepians with a vast menu of theme opportunities.

181 : Time to open your jewellery case and dig out some sparkling images. We're looking for any bodily adornments: from girls with pearl earrings to gents with an impressive medal collection (or vice versa!).

But such things are for the future. This week it is the turn of the birds .... and the beasts .... and the reptiles.

Sepia Saturday 178 : 25 May 2013

This week Sepia Saturday is paying tribute to the human face. It can be young or old, male or female, happy or sad : it can be any shape or colour you choose. My selected picture comes from the collection at George Eastman House which is featured on Flickr Commons. It is listed simple as "Woman's Face" and dates from somewhere around 1915. All you need to do is to post your post on or around Saturday the 25th May 2013 and then add a link to the list below. But before you get hypnotised by those eyes staring into your soul, you might want to briefly consider what we have coming up on Sepia Saturday in the weeks ahead. Here is your usual preview.

179 : In the past on Sepia Saturday we have had cute dogs and cuddly cats, but here is a chance to bring out your birds, beasts and reptiles. Or caravans, or ladders, or ....

180 : Our picture features a hospital kitchen on a railway train, thus providing Sepians with a vast menu of theme opportunities.

But now it is time to face up to the challenge of Sepia Saturday 178. Now look into my eyes and relax. Post your posts, post your posts, post your posts .....

Sepia Saturday 177 : 18 May 2013

These Madrid street kids are upside down, the wrong way up, and all over the place. That's what happens when you place kids next to the slightest excuse for a piece of acrobatic equipment. So for Sepia Saturday 177 - post your posts on or around Saturday 18th May 2013 - we want you to search out your old photos of kids, or acrobats, or people who are upside down or the wrong way around .... or whatever. This 1908 photograph comes from the George Eastman Collection which has been made available by the wonderful Flickr Commons initiative.

But before you start turning somersaults and letting the blood rush to your head, you might want to have a look at what is coming next on Sepia Saturday. Here is our usual peep around the corner of time.

178 : Sepia Saturday faces up to the challenge of featuring the face. It doesn't matter if it is young or old, male or female, black or white .... as long as it is sepia.

179 : In the past on Sepia Saturday we have had cute dogs and cuddly cats, but here is a chance to bring out your birds, beasts and reptiles. Or caravans, or ladders, or ....

All that is in the future. For Sepia Saturday 177 just turn your collection of old photographs upside down and see what emerges.

Sepia Saturday 176 : 11 May 2013

Oh I remember all those chemistry lessons at school : the tubes, the flasks, the Bunsen Burners, the extraordinary smells, the unfathomable formulae. Oh I remember school : the wooden desks, the inky fountain pens, the smell of school dinners, the unfathomable formulae. And if you don't want to go back to school with your Sepia Saturday 176 contribution, you can always feature glass bottles or glass partitions or glass windows. It's Sepia Saturday of course, and you can feature almost anything you want - all you need to do is to post your post - on or around Saturday 11th May 2013 - and then link it to the linky list below. But before you light the gas flame of your imagination, why not take a look at what is to come in the next two Sepia Saturdays.

177 : Sepia Saturday 177 stays with kids, but these kids are upside down, wrong way around and all over the place. Kids have always climbed and swung and proud parents have always taken photographs of their acrobatic endeavours.

178 : Sepia Saturday faces up to the challenge of featuring the face. It doesn't matter if it is young or old, male or female, black or white .... as long as it is sepia.

For now, let us concentrate on Sepia Saturday 176. It's time to mix together all the ingredients of a great blog post - it is time to distill the results into a sepia compound of archival pleasure.