Prints and Photographs Online Catalog

I chose to use Iceland as my location for assignment 7 which is the same location I used for assignment 6. I chose to use the same location because although I studied abroad in Iceland, the courses I took relating to Iceland were biology and geology. Therefore, I have not experienced much of the history of Iceland.

When searching the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog I knew there most likely wouldn’t be many search results for the country I chose. Therefore, I decided I would be satisfied with just about any photographs pertaining to the history of Iceland. I did a general search for “Iceland” in order to retrieve ALL photographs relating to Iceland. Unsurprisingly, this search yielded only 74 search results. Among the results I found were both black and white photographs and colored paintings from historical times of Iceland.

I was curious to see if I would find any prints or photographs of anything I saw and photographed while in Iceland so I could compare the photographs. I immediately recognized the painting of the lava fields as a search result. I have a photograph with similar rock formations at the lava fields which I thought was interesting. I also wondered if the churches in the photographs from the website were some of the same churches I visited on my trip to Iceland. The most intriguing photograph I found during my search was titled “Soldiers of the Iceland base command receiving gift boxes of sweaters and bags containing cigarettes, soap, sewing kits and other comforts from the Cleveland, Ohio, and New Haven, Connecticut, Red Cross chapters.” I was shocked to find a photograph from Iceland that connected to my hometown, especially since there were only 74 search results.

I did not expect to find an abundance of prints and photographs relating to Iceland since it is not a popular location so I was pleasantly surprised even to find 74 search results. I was satisfied when I tested search results for other locations just to be sure I would receive a sufficient number of search results for other, more popular locations. I liked that the search results were relevant and varied. I also liked that the website was simple and easy to use. It was also helpful that I had the option to view the search results in numerous ways such as by list, grid, gallery, or slide. Overall, I am glad I am now aware of this website because it is a great link to original prints and photographs for research purposes.

Bookmarks of prints and photographs can be found at my delicious account: http://delicious.com/crystaltancak