A Photographer Bought an Old Camera at a Flea Market and Discovered Photos from 30 Years Ago (8 photos)

Old things have a special charm, though not everyone sees it that way. But Portland photographer Kati Dimoff occasionally searches flea markets and thrift stores for old cameras in hopes of stumbling upon a long-lost or forgotten treasure. One day, she struck it lucky—she found photographs in an Argus C2 camera that captured the catastrophic 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

The photographs were taken in Portland, Washington, as smoke billowed from the volcano. The magnitude 5.0 eruption occurred on May 18, 1980, killing 57 people and causing $1.1 billion in damage. The death toll is explained by the fact that the eruption was a rare type—a "directed explosion."

One of the photographs stood out from the others—it showed a smiling family in their backyard.





After the discovered photographs were published in the local newspaper, The Oregonian, a man named Melvin Purvis identified them as those of his late grandmother.

"I click on the photos, start scrolling, and see a picture of my wife, grandmother, son, and myself," the stunned man said.

Sadly, his mother and grandmother had both passed away by that time, so this lost family photograph became especially dear to Melvin Purvis.



Argus C2 cameras were manufactured in Illinois from 1938 to 1942.

Photographer Kati Dimoff.





Longview Bridge. Mount St. Helens is in the background.







Melvin Purvis's family.

"I almost fell out of my chair," Melvin said.

The camera they found belonged to his grandmother (pictured), who died in 1981. However, it's unknown how the camera ended up at the flea market. Purvis's mother (pictured to the left of his grandmother) passed away recently.

"I'm not a particularly religious person, but sometimes there are moments when you wonder..."