Matching snapshots
The names and stories behind street photographs are often lost with the passing of time, and we were unable to identify many of the people whose images are featured in the Street Photography exhibition. However, we’ve since learnt the moving story behind one image, of two curly-haired children (below).
Published in a newspaper article about the exhibition, the photo was spotted by a member of the public who had a very similar photo (right) in her own family album, showing her late father, Michael Finn.
The two photos clearly belong to the same sequence of images, captured by a street photographer outside Central Station in late 1939. In both photos, six-year-old Michael has a reassuring arm around his two-year-old sister Margaret; their mother was probably standing nearby, out of sight. It’s believed the close‑up photo was sent to a family friend; it later found its way to us in response to our public call-out for the exhibition. The Finns retained the other photo.
Just two of the many images the photographer undoubtedly snapped that day, these photos now hold a much greater significance than could have been anticipated at the time. The photos are possibly among the last images of Margaret, who was fatally injured in a road accident not long after, on 6 January 1940.
These inexpensive snaps, quickly captured and often impulsively purchased, have crept their way into family stories, sometimes just putting a face to a name but occasionally becoming an irreplaceable record of a lost loved one.
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Street photography
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Ikon Studio: photo galleries
Browse a selection of images from the Ikon Studio collection shot between May and December 1950 in Martin Place, Sydney
City of a million faces
The passing of years has given many street photographs greater significance than may have been anticipated when they were taken
Ikon Studio
During the public call out for our Street Photography exhibition an extraordinarily rare collection of street photography negatives came to light. The Ikon Studio negatives provide a fascinating visual narrative of the street photographer at work
Vali Myers: teenage Ikon in street photograph
Two young women stride confidently, hand in hand, up Sydney’s Martin Place on a sunny winter’s day in 1950
The street snapshot craze
Picture this: you and a friend are walking down a city footpath amid the lunchtime crowd. Suddenly a smiling man in a suit and tie with camera in hand steps forward and offers you a card. It reads: Your photograph has just been taken
Family photo reunion
Imagine visiting an exhibition and discovering a photograph of yourself and your family that you had never seen before
Snapped! The Ikon Studio street photographer at work
A remarkable acquisition of 5000 street snaps provides a lively and revealing record of one Sydney street in 1950 and offers a rare glimpse through the street photographer’s lens
A popular nuisance – controlling the street photographers
By the mid-1930s the street photography ‘craze’ saw increasing numbers of photographers on Sydney’s streets – all competing for the best locations and the most promising marks
Signs of the times
In the background of many street photos are glimpses of Sydney’s architecture, from still-recognisable locations to popular landmarks of the day
Photo collections
Electricity Commission
These photos record the power generation and transmission assets of the organisation and document the working conditions and social events of its employees
Fire Commissioners travels
This photo series offers a visual record of the Commissioners' travels across NSW, as well as parts of Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia. The two albums span the years 1928 to 1935
Government Printing Office Glass Negatives
From the late 19th century into the 20th century, photography played a significant role at the Government Printing Office, leading to a rich and varied collection of images depicting life in New South Wales
Lantern slides shown at the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition
Part of this collection of lantern slides was shown at the Franco-British Exhibition in London, 1908. Many of the slides are of typical country scenes such as saw mills, dairy farms, mining, and timber felling and hauling