Flickr users help LOC identify photos

Wreckage of new library building, Indianapolis (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is posting thousands of photos from their archives on Flickr, and the site's users are helping to identify and catalog them as well as do research and link them to related materials. For example, when this photo, labeled simply "Wreckage of new library building, Indianapolis", was posted, most assumed that it was of a tornado's aftermath. Further investigation by a user revealed a much more interesting story. The user linked the photo to this New York Times article from November 21, 1912, which shows that the public library in Indianapolis was probably dynamited by International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Ironworkers members in retaliation for the use of non-union builders in the building's construction.
Other photos from the LOC collection are attracting attention because of their rarity. For instance, a large group of color photos from the Great Depression is quite popular, since most people are only familiar with black and white images from that era. The LOC currently has more than 3,000 photos on Flickr and plans to add more soon.

Flickr users document lunar eclipse

Some gorgeous photos of the eclipse this week are showing up on photo-sharing sites. Many are straight from the camera, while others have been manipulated to show off certain aspects of the moon or the passage of time. The one above was posted by Scribner on Flickr. Here are links to some of my other favorites from that site:

(C)lint shows the moon reflecting normal sunlight on one side and sunlight that was bent as it passed through Earth's atmosphere on the other.

Many users made composites of the eclipse. My favorite of these is by Peter Heinzen.

Blazczak captured the constellation Leo with the eclipse, got a great shot of totality, and has an amazing collection of other photos worth checking out.

Finally, there's a nice close-up by Yani Ioannou. In his Eclipse Set, he also shows the camera/telescope setup he used to get his photos.

For other interesting eclipse images on Flickr, try their eclipse page.