You know those stories, someone accidentally finds something strange and that is a beginning of a mystery that has to be solved. Well, this is something like that, except in this “digital era mystery, ” the detective is not Sherlock Holmes, but the entire internet.
Richmond, Virginia-based photographer Meagan Abell went thrift store hunting and stumbled upon four transparency strips, and now she asked help from social media to unravel the mystery behind these photos.
“Now this is where I need the Internet’s help,” Abell wrote. “I would absolutely love to find the women in these photographs/the photographer who took them.”
And help they did. The mystery woman instantly went viral, and the online masses used the hashtag #FindTheGirlsOnTheNegatives to spread the word.
Photo courtesy of Meagan Abell
Photo courtesy of Meagan Abell
“From what I could tell,” Abel writes on Facebook, “they had been taken sometime in the 50s.” She bought them and, a few weeks later, once they’d been scanned, saw how incredible they were. And she wanted to know where they came from.
Photo courtesy of Meagan Abell
Photo courtesy of Meagan Abell
ABC reports
Abell now believes the 1950s-style shots were taken on the California coast for a magazine or portfolio shoot, thanks to advice from a veteran photographer.
“You never see a full facial portrait of the women and the lighting is very soft and moody. Not having a name or face for either woman makes it haunting,” Abell said.
“People have been having a lot of fun with coming up with interesting theories about the back story to the photos,” she added.
Photo courtesy of Meagan Abell
So, if you happen to own detective skills, join the “Internet patrol” in solving the mystery and help Abell to identify these beautiful women from the totally transcendent photos. If you have any leads or theories, write on the hashtag or to heyhihello@meaganabellphotography.com.
Photo courtesy of Meagan Abell