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John Foster|Accidental Mysteries

December 31, 2009

The Chill Factor

Each year on Halloween, I like to go through my archives of anonymous snapshots and pull images suitable for the occasion. In the past, I have selected people in costume or masks for All Hallow’s Eve, but this year I went a different route. I looked for ambiguous images that embody a deep sense of mystery. 
For many of these photographs, I have no definitive answer for what is going on—your guess is as good as mine. I think that the best word for these photographs is “unsettling.” What are we looking at? These images attach themselves (unintentionally) to a darker side of humanity. Like a still from a Hitchcock film, there is something just a bit wrong with these pictures. 
Photographs are known equally for the lies they tell, and the truths. 

All images © copyright John Foster and may not be reproduced without permission. 

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By John Foster

John Foster and his wife, Teenuh, have been longtime collectors of self-taught art and vernacular photography. Their collection of anonymous, found snapshots has toured the country for five years and has been featured in Harper’s, Newsweek Online and others.

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