The Photo Man by Ben Kitnick
The Photo Man by Ben Kitnick is a lovely short film about Mark Kologi who has collected and sold millions of forgotten personal photos of complete strangers. He can be found selling these photos at the Melrose Trading Post in Los Angeles every Sunday (via LA Weekly).
I can't imagine what it's like going through thousands of photos like Mark does - what does it feel like to have so many people's memories in his possession. But he also finds satisfaction in passing on these photos to other people.
When selling the photos my satisfaction comes from when I see that a person who has creative instincts that may have been a little crushed, gets some kind of reignition or charge....That's really why I do it. Mark Kologi
I love going through found photos when I visit flea markets during my travels. I even have a small collection which I hope to do something with, maybe I will try by sharing some here on the blog.
In the meantime, please watch The Photo Man, it's just under 7 minutes long.