Carnegie Mellon Lost Photo Collections
Interact with the project here.
Over the past several years, hundreds of photos have been left behind by students in Carnegie Mellon University’s darkrooms. There, they sit sealed in bins until they are inevitably thrown away. Due to the laborious nature of film photography, a lot of these photos end up coming out very well. However, I’ve found that when people are not invested in the medium, they end up abandoning a lot of their work. I thought it was a shame that there’s this constantly evolving, beautiful body of work that’s simply collecting dust in some drawer. I wanted to create an easily accessable means for people to peruse these photos, and allow past students to view what is or has happened in the Carnegie Mellon photo department.
Thus, I created the Carnegie Mellon Lost Photo Collections. Everyday, we go through the hundreds of abandoned photos in Carnegie Mellon’s darkrooms, select several to scan, then post them on the website. Past batches of scans are cataloged and can be viewed as well. Using the arrow keys, the site allows you to shuffle through beautifully scanned images from anonymous artists. This project preserves and celebrates the overlooked artistry of Carnegie Mellon’s darkrooms, transforming forgotten photos into a shared, accessible archive of creativity.
Skills:
Graphic Design, Web Design, UI/UX Design
Tools:
Figma
Date:
Fall 2024