I was going throught the 400s in the enumerated Estonian military recruits photos when I noticed something that a whole lot (but not all) of them had in common. I'm posting them without comment, but you guys are free to have at it, especially when you figure out the common element.
We start with the front view of numbers 421 and 422.
Can I be honest? I don't want to offend anyone or you (for that matter) as I think your blog is great all in all. But, the Estonian military posts are not a "draw" for me.....
ReplyDeleteThat's fine. I post to appeal to the broadest number of viewers, and it's not to always to everyone's taste. In fact, I post quite a bit of material that I don't actually like myself.
DeletePerfect, honest answer. You do a great job of presenting such a variety of subjects. Not all of us will like all of it, as anonymous says and you confirm. But that is partially the draw for me to your site. Variety is the way we see new things and maybe come to enjoy them more than we initially thought we would. And people’s comments add to topics I might not understand. Keep up the good work.
DeleteThank you.
DeleteWith whatever respect is truly due, I disagree that taste is a primary issue here. What agency did the subjects of the photographs have in the capturing ( a pretty apt term in my opinion) and dissemination of their photograph images? I think the soldiers here, like traditional, so- called "third world" subjects of old National Geographic photo essays and, inevitably, the students in the mid 20th-century posture studies (a group known to include young men under 18...) old or young, dead or alive, are clearly being displayed without their agency or any proof of consent, and I don't see why anyone would want to perpetuate the violation.
ReplyDeletePS What these subjects were denied is something most people in a free society take for granted, the right not to have their naked photographic likenesses reproduced for purposes, and in venues, and for as long as others choose, without any say at all in the matter, then or now.
ReplyDeleteEven if the photos aren't to everyone's taste, they also help the algorithm. Come for the historical military photos; stay for the 50s-era bodybuilders and such.
ReplyDeleteI for one, do not find these disrespectful. So they are naked, what is so private about that? the Estonian military (nor Yale College) thought about privacy when they shot and kept the photos. Besides, with the fuzzy quality of the photos, i don't think anyone would be able to recognize their grandfather anyway.
ReplyDelete