Forgotten Images

In domestic photograph collections, many images lie dormant, untouched or forgotten, once their initial value has been realised at the time of capture. Serendipitous discovery of forgotten images can prove to be immensely rewarding and compelling as a reminder of past events.

This project will investigate catalysts for photo re-discovery and re-use in the domestic environment, and will also probe the reasons for non-use of photographs. This will be achieved through home visits incorporating guided tours of family archives, interview, photo diaries and observational studies.

The results of the studies will expand previous research findings on "the social life of photographs", and stimulate development of prototype technologies for pro-active domestic photo collections.

This is a 12 month project funded by and being conducted with Kodak Research in Cambridge, UK.

This project was led at Surrey by Dr Steven Wall

Publications

Frohlich DM, Wall S & Kiddle G. (2013) Re-discovery of Forgotten Images in Domestic Photo Collections. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 17: 729-740.