Mark Moorman for ten years has been an author of the section called Gevonden Foto (Found Photo) in Het Parool. He wrote a book about those all kinds of pictures he has seen coming, recently published by Bas Lubberhuizen.
Lost photos may dive anywhere: at bike racks, at flea markets, in a trash or books lent from libraries. Miraculously, the finders get sometimes very attached to pictures of complete strangers, perhaps because they recognize a couple in love. And those orphaned photos make them naturally curious about the owner.
In “Gevonden Foto” Mark Moorman goes in search of the stories behind those surfaced photos. There are all genres: the passport, nightlife, Polaroid, the failed photo, photos from gatherings and the street photography. He finds back a forgotten school trip and sets up a monument for the pony photographer from Jordaan.
Moorman writes about the disappearance of film, the rise of the selfie and the wonderful stories that can tell the back side of the photos. Even once all the owners are gone, you will always find a story. He tells his remarkable stories of Amsterdam.
Mark Moorman is a journalist at Het Parool. He writes about film, literature, photography, media, art and urban affairs. He also makes weekly Smaakmatrix.
