Old photographs can be many things: mysterious, moving, intriguing, funny. But once enough years have passed, the story behind the moment a photo was taken is generally lost to time.
But not always.
For years, author and filmmaker Ransom Riggs has been collecting old photos of people he's never met.
Among the thousands of shots he's gathered, there are some photos that have another way of telling their story: the writing on the back.
In the video above, Riggs talks about his hobby and the "surprising, emotional, candid, hilarious, heartbreaking" notes he's found on some of the pics.
He's compiled his favourites into a book called 'Talking Pictures.' The book is organized into sections. One is 'Clowning Around,' which features humorous notes like the one below.
Another section is called 'Love and Marriage,' and it features moments of pure romance...
...and some examples of romantic criticism.
There's also a section called 'Times Of Trouble,' which includes everything from locusts...
...to (maybe joking?) admissions of theft.
And one of the darkest sections is called 'Haunting Pictures of the Dead.' It's full of pictures like this with messages that make you look at the people in them very differently:
Check out more of Ransom's finds at this Tumblr. And for more info on 'Talking Pictures' the book, visit his site here.
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